Kia ora · Nau mai, haere mai Est 1992
Farming Aotearoa, together.
Free farm tools in New Zealand units, plain-English guides and the REALM Marketplace for dairy, sheep and beef, cropping and orchard families, from Te Tai Tokerau to Murihiku.
Spring in Aotearoa Kōanga
Grass takes off, lambs and calves are on the ground and the busiest months of the farming year begin.
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Lambing and calving
Lambing usually runs from late winter into spring, and many dairy herds finish calving in early spring.
Livestock due date calculator -
Tailing / docking and marking
Lambs are often tailed and marked in the weeks after lambing - a good time to count your lambing %.
Lambing percentage calculator -
Dairy mating
Many dairy herds start mating in late spring for next year’s calving - the mating date gives the calving date.
Calving date calculator -
Peak milk and the milk price
Many herds reach peak milk in late spring, while milk companies update their milk price forecasts - see what each 10c means for your season.
Milk price and income calculator -
Silage and feed budgets
Surplus grass is often shut up for silage in late spring - a weekly farm walk and feed wedge show which paddocks are ahead.
Pasture cover and feed wedge
Typical timings only: they shift by region, altitude and season. Coming up next: Summer (Raumati). See what each region farms.
Farming in Aotearoa, region by region.
Two islands, a long run of climates and a farming year that runs on grass, rain and the southern seasons.
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Dairy Waikato & Taranaki Waikato · Taranaki Pasture-based dairy on well-watered flats and the ring plain around Taranaki Maunga. -
Sheep & beef Hill & high country Te Ika-a-Māui · Te Waipounamu Hill-country farms and high-country stations, mustered with teams of working dogs. -
Arable Canterbury Plains Waitaha Grain and seed crops on the plains, with irrigated dairy and merino in the high country. -
Kiwifruit Bay of Plenty Te Moana-a-Toi Kiwifruit orchards around Te Puke, picked in autumn, plus avocados. -
Wine & fruit Marlborough & Hawke’s Bay Te Tauihu-o-te-waka · Te Matau-a-Māui Sauvignon blanc in the Wairau, apples and wine on the Heretaunga Plains. -
Stonefruit & merino Central Otago Ōtākou Hot, dry summers and cold winters: cherries, apricots, pinot noir and fine merino wool.
Te Ika-a-Māui North Island
The farming year runs on grass.
Most New Zealand farms are pasture-based: cows, sheep and cattle graze outdoors, so every season turns on grass growth and rain. Our free tools work the way you do, in stock units, kg MS and hectares.
The week ahead on the farm.
Right now and the next 7 days for five farming districts, with frost, heat, heavy rain and spray-day wind flags.
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The farm weather can’t be loaded right now. Please try again soon, or check MetService.
Farm flags are general guides worked out from the forecast numbers only. They are not advice. Weather data: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
From the saleyards to your phone.
Kiwi farmers already buy and sell in plenty of ways. The REALM Marketplace sits alongside them, open day and night.
Saleyards & stock agents
Store and prime stock change hands at local saleyards, often through a stock agent.
Clearing sales
When a farm is sold or a farmer retires, gear and machinery go under the hammer on the farm.
Farmer-owned co-ops
Many dairy farmers supply farmer-owned co-operatives, and many farms buy their supplies through rural co-ops.
Fieldays in June
The National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton in the Waikato, are held each June.
Got something to sell? List anything from hay to land on the REALM Marketplace for a one-time fee. Every listing gets a Listing ID buyers can search.
Start a listingMachinery dealer, stock agent or auction house? Join the REALM Virtual Dealership
Everything a farm needs, in plain words.
- Real EstateFarmland, grazing country and rural homes from owners and licensed agents.
- AuctionClearing sales, machinery and livestock auctions, plus results.
- LivestockCattle, sheep, goats and more, with registration details checked.
- MachineryTractors, harvesters, balers and implements from trusted sellers.
- FinancePlain-English guides, and apply online with our sister brand Pay In Time Finance.
- CommunityGroups, comments and connections with farmers worldwide.
- AgricultureHay, feed, seed and produce, plus practical growing advice.
- Farm help directoryWho to call: vets, stock agents, wellbeing support, weather and emergencies.
- Te reo on the farmEveryday te reo Māori words for the farm, with macrons and meanings.
One free REALM account works on this site and the Marketplace.Join free or sign in
The REALM network
REALM Group New Zealand is part of REALM Group Global. Here is where to go next.
- REALM MarketplaceBuy and sell stock, hay, machinery and land. Every listing gets a Listing ID.Open the marketplace
- REALM NewsletterReal estate, auctions, livestock, machinery and finance news from across REALM.Read the newsletter
- Pay In Time – FinanceOur sister brand for farm and equipment finance. Apply online.Visit Pay In Time
- REALM ConnectTalk farming with REALM members in Aotearoa and around the world.Join REALM Connect
REALM in your part of the world
New Zealand You are here 
Australia Head office · Warragul, Victoria 
America Regional site 
Canada Regional site 
Fiji Regional site 
Philippines Regional site Part of farming life since 1992.
REALM Group New Zealand brings REALM's free farm tools, guides, newsletter and marketplace to New Zealand farmers, growers and rural communities, with New Zealand words, units and seasons.
REALM is run from its head office in Warragul, Victoria, Australia. In Aotearoa, Richard Rowlands in Hamilton is REALM's local contact for machinery and equipment (our team).
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