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.

David Carter has declared a drought in the Waikato and Ruapehu District, saying recent rainfalls appear to have had little effect on dry pastures.

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.

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.

Weather analyst Philip Duncan can't believe Aucklanders are being asked to conserve water.