New Zealand is set for a humid summer, with experts predicting a warm and wet January and February.

Rainfall over the past few days has made a Waikato farmer's "wishes come true", but he warns its effect will not be immediate.

An official drought already declared for Northland could spread to much of the upper North Island.

The drought that has crippled New South Wales for nearly a decade is over.

Russia last week banned grain exports for the rest of the year after a severe drought and wildfires destroyed 20 per cent of its wheat crop.

Drought throughout the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Auckland and Northland has dried up the water where ducks usually dwell.

Farmers' economic confidence improved in the first months of 2010, boosted by sheep and beef prices.