The Waikato Rural Support Trust still urges the farmers to call in for help despite the little rainfall. It claims that the scanty rainfall does not mark the end of the drought. A drought was declared early in April in the region.

As per the reports the calls to the trust have considerably decreased. According to Mr. Neil Bateup, Chairman of the trust, the decline in the calls is due to a combination of factors like the recent rain and the fact that majority of the hard hit farmers have already called in. Another factor that is being attributed to the fall in phone calls is the announcement of a rise in payout in Fonterra.

Since only about 20-40 mm of rain has been recorded in the past week, environmentalists at Waikato insist that minimum of 75mm of rain is still needed to declare the drought broken.

In spite of the conditions, farmers are advised to make the most of the prevalent conditions of the soil and grow as much grass possible for the pastures.

Mr. Bateup also added that the drought stricken farmers should continue calling agriculture professionals, advisors and also the trust to deal with the situation.