A cold, wet winter and a flood that silted pasture have limited the amount of feed available to lifestyle farmers as well as to larger landowners, Ruapehu/Whanganui Rural Support Trust co-ordinator Lyn Neeson says.
With lambing and calving happening, she's hoping people with lifestyle blocks will plan well ahead to keep their animals fed.
She has been getting calls, especially from lifestyle farmers, looking for alternative feed.
"It's great that farmers have realised they may not be able to rely on pasture to keep condition on their stock, even though this may have worked in the past," she said.
Many smaller farms don't have the equipment to feed out the large bales that may be available, and may not have the finances to purchase supplementary feed. And it's hard for animal owners to watch their stock lose condition, and frustrating waiting for grass that won't grow because the ground temperature is still low.