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Waikato farmers have taken a beating with the region's record-breaking dry summer - with sheep farmers hardest hit as pasture and water become increasingly scarce.
The economic powerhouse of the country's agricultural industry is likely to take a battering as drought turns formerly green pastures to dust.
Sheep farmers - whose stock prices are already depressed - are selling their stock underweight and at a loss, while the shine has gone off the dairy industry's year of record payouts as a lack of feed forces farmers to dry off their herds months early.
Meanwhile, the Rural Support Trust, the helpline for farmers, has seen a sharp increase in calls from those struggling to cope with the stress.
Environment Waikato declared the region a drought zone on Thursday, as it experiences the driest summer since records began more than 100 years ago.
A combination of low rainfall, near-record-high temperatures, extremely dry soils and falling river levels have contributed to the drought, with the conditions expected to continue for the next few weeks.
Walter Scott, chairman of Waikato Federated Farmers' meat and fibre producers, said sheep farmers were "in a pretty serious way".
"They are getting very poor returns for anything they have been able to sell ... Quite a lot of the lambs have already gone to the works.
"A lot of people are still carrying their old ewes, which should have gone to the works at least a month ago, but because of the dry setting in, there's been a lot more lambs go in. That's number one priority, but unfortunately the old ewes that are still left on the farm have still got to be fed."
Some have been considering selling off capital stock - if a buyer could be found. At a sale of rams last week, 80 per cent of rams went home with their breeders.
"The whole sheep industry is very depressed. It's probably at the lowest ebb that I know for some time, and the drought is only part of that problem."
Lack of water and pasture feed, and rising costs to keep stock in good condition were forcing many to sell early.
Otorohanga beef and lamb farmer Andre de Haan said the problem was compounded by sheep farmers converting to the more lucrative dairy, unloading even more stock on to the market.
Two-tooths, or 2-year-old sheep, which normally fetched between $80 and $90, were now selling for $50. Older ewes, previously sold for $45, would be lucky to get $30, he said.
Syd Fraser-Jones, the grain and seed section chairman, said maize was being harvested early.
"Some of those crops for silage are now being cut for green feed for cows to keep them alive."
Stew Wadey, a dairy farmer and president of Waikato Federated Farmers, estimates dairy production would be down around 20 to 30 per cent.
"In reality we're still going to get the same income as last year, which is not flash - you can't do much with it as far as development goes - but with astute management, we'll get by.
"My sheep and beef guys have got a double whammy. Not only have they got the dry conditions to contend with, they've got low cashflows because of the poor returns. They are my hardest hit industry."
All farmers - particularly the younger ones who have not experienced this before - would be feeling very stressed.
"As farmers, they're always in control of the situation - but the situation is now controlling them."
Mr Scott, a beef farmer of 60 years, echoed this sentiment.
"There's a hell of a lot of young farmers that have never experienced this before.
"In another week for some people, but for the majority of people another 10 days to a fortnight, they'll have run out of supplementary feed, and then things will get pretty serious. We'd be really struggling."
Neil Bateup, chairman of the Rural Support Trust, said it has had 15 calls in the past five days from Waikato farmers.
"Normally we'd get a call a week, sometimes nothing for months."
* Farmers with spare feed or grazing pasture to donate can call the trust, 0800 RURAL HELP (0800 787 254).
Trying times
* It costs between $54 and $55 to raise a lamb to optimum weight.
* Lambs typically sold at between 34 to 36kgs are now selling at stall markets at 22 to 25kgs, fetching between $26 and $27 if they sell at all.
* Two-tooths, or 2-year-old sheep, which would fetch $80 to $90 are now selling for $50.
* Ewes which normally sell for $65 to $80 now fetch $35 at most.
* The local processing plant now has three-week waits because of the volume of stock being unloaded.
Big payout averts total catastrophe
The shine has gone off a record year for dairy farmers with Waikato's dairy industry expected to take a $500 million hit from the drought.
But total dairy revenue is still expected to be up as a result of the record dairy payout for milksolids.
Farmers have been drying off their herds early to cope with a lack of feed, but Matthew Newman, economist for Dairy New Zealand, said they will still be better off because of the huge payout.
Total dairy revenue for the Waikato region is expected to be in the vicinity of $2.5 billion this year, he said.
Last year, the region contributed $1.8 billion of dairy revenue, representing 32 per cent of the national total.
Stew Wadey, president of Waikato Federated Farmers, expected dairy production to be down by around 20 to 30 per cent as the drought forced farmers to close the season early.
The Matamata farmer is already drying off his small herd - months ahead of schedule.
It represents a 24 per cent drop in his farm's production from last year, but with Fonterra paying 54 per cent more this year, dairy farmers were still going to earn more, he said.
But costs, which have gone up 10 to 15 per cent, would eat up much of that profit. "In reality we're still going to get the same income as last year, which is not flash."
Once-lush fields turn to dust
Gerald Bull has been farming the hills of Ngaruawahia for over 30 years - and has never known a drought like this. "We haven't run out of feed, but the sky's beating us. The sky is burning feed."
Since Christmas Day, only 12mm of rain has fallen in his part of the country. Around him, the land is a pale brown. In parts of farms only kilometres away, the pasture has already started turning to dust.
"Doesn't matter where you go from here, you're just going to find strife."
The sheep and beef farmer had been planning to dam up the main creek that runs through his 400ha farm. He was out measuring the water on Tuesday. But by Thursday, it had dried up.
Mr Bull has never seen the 1m wide creek dry. "We've been through drys before but never water tables like this."
Some cattle led him to a limestone spring that, until this week, he was not aware existed on his farm. But Mr Bull said he is lucky. Lucky because he still has some natural water sources and he sold his sheep stock relatively early in the season.
Others are now faced with three-week-long waits at the processing works - weeks of feeding and watering when feed, and water, are at their scarcest.
