A number of Northland farmers are now being forced to buy water for their stock, as dams dry up and the drought drags on.

Rural Support Trust coordinator Helen Moodie says to her knowledge it’s unprecedented. She says buying water is the only option for some farmers, short of selling all their stock.

Ms. Moody says older farmers are now comparing it with the worst recorded drought, in 1946, when no rain fell from October to May.