The Bay of Plenty's hot, dry weather is hitting local lawn mowing companies, with two recording a 20 per cent drop in business as a result of the drought.
Dry, cracked fields are emerging throughout the Western Bay and those in the industry are praying for a bout of rain so grass can begin growing again.
"The farmers are not the only ones who are suffering,'' said Graham Reichardt, regional franchisor of Jim's Mowing. T
"This is having a huge effect on our business and there are people suffering. It's affecting the livelihood of the franchisees. They have a budget they have to stick to and they still have to pay their bills and mortgages, so I'd say the situation we are in at the moment is extremely difficult.''
It was the worst drought he had seen in his nine years in the industry. He said some lawn mower operators would earn on average $2000 a week but now they were lucky to earn $2000 every three weeks.