Mr Doughty said it had been an exceptional season in parts, with grass growth from midwinter on, and high dairy prices.
He would like to see farmers looking out for their neighbours more, because that was vital when there were storms, floods or other misfortunes.
Waimarino member Winston Oliver said the weather seemed to be dishing out more extremes. A recent one only affected a handful of farmers but caused 60 slips on his Ruatiti property and cut power supply for 50 hours.
Health and safety was another place where Mr Doughty expected farmers to face pressure. One example was the Marlborough farm worker fined $15,000 for not wearing a helmet on a quad bike.
Legislation on the issue was confusing, and hadn't been tested in court, Mrs Bryant said.
Mr Matthews got stuck into Horizons Regional Council's One Plan in his report.
"People that don't think the One Plan has anything to do with them will find in the next year or so that it does," he said.
Horizons was sending out soil conservators to issue free consents within days for matters such as soil disturbance on steep slopes.
But for people converting to dairying it was a different matter, taking months and costing thousands, he said. It was getting close to "farming by consent".
The rules were still gelling, and it was too soon to expect a little handbook listing them.
"Horizons is now trying to do this in the way that causes the least grief for everyone, including themselves."
He talked about Wanganui District Council's proposed zoning change to rural land, which would make the minimum subdivision size on the best soils 10ha. Subdivision to half a hectare on poorer soils close to the city would be allowed - that was the minimum size Horizons allows for on-site sewage disposal. Other rural land would continue to have a minimum 1ha subdivision size.
Mr Matthews said government moves to decrease roading subsidies by about 10 per cent would cost farmers dearly, because they paid a lot for roads. He suggested lobbying local MPs.
"It's an election year, and they shouldn't take our votes for granted."
Better lamb prices this year had meat companies back in the black by March, he said, and wool had a late resurgence too.
But the Meat Industry Excellence group had been unable to make long-term changes to benefit the meat industry. Mr Matthews said he would hold a meeting on that subject, if he was asked.
Dairy prices will probably be about $2 down next year, Mr Rogers said. He supplies Westland Milk Products, which was paying 75c less than Fonterra. Open Country was paying 20c more than Fonterra.
He said the nitrogen rules proposed for the Ruataniwha Dam area in Hawke's Bay were more stringent than Horizons', but Mrs Bryant disagreed.
"The whole dairy industry is a whipping boy. As soon as you make money everybody wants to belt the hell out of you."
The meeting finished with debate about the benefits of the National Animal Identification & Tracing scheme (NAIT), and a talk from Mrs Bryant on the work of Beef + Lamb New Zealand.