Rain has fallen in most of the nation's dairying areas over the last week or so, but Fonterra chairman John Wilson said it would take six weeks to determine whether the drought that hit most of the country had caused any lasting damage.
He said milk production had been very strong until February, when the drought started making its presence felt. Since then, production had fallen back sharply.
Speaking after a blessing of Fonterra's new UHT milk processing plant at Waitoa, Wilson said the drought had hit most of the country - with the exception of much of Canterbury, which had escaped the worst of it through irrigation.
"This rain has been great, but much will depend on the next six weeks as to whether we can turn this around or not," Wilson said.
Current conditions were in stark contrast to last autumn, which was exceptionally strong.