Last year was a 'bitterly disappointing' year for farmers, with the number of deaths nearly doubling to 17, Federated Farmers says.

A coroner has called for the Government to immediately investigate making the wearing of helmets compulsory and tightening other safety regulations.

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

Silver Ferns Farms has hit back at complaints that workers at its Te Aroha plant had their pay deducted for observing a two-minute silence to remember the Pike River miners.

Staff at a North Island freezing works had their pay cut for the official two-minute silence to remember the 29 miners killed in the Pike River mine.

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