The weather is slowly releasing Northland farmers from the grip of drought, with steady rain this week dumping up to 70mls on parts of the province.

The southern end of the region has fared the best, but farmers in the north and west are yet to see the sort of rain needed to kick-start grass growth.

Northland Federated Farmers president Denis Anderson received 31millimetres of rain at his farm at Kokopu, west of Whangarei. And he says that’s enough to launch him back on the road to recovery.

The forecast for Northland farmers is for more rain this week, with showers right through until Sunday and some heavy falls in the east.

Meantime, in the Waikato, soil moisture deficit records show the drought is the worst in 64 years.