'You can't be patient like in granddad's day.'

Cust farmer Roscoe Taggart with his dogs Pip, Sass and Rose. He says soil temperatures in the region are lower than he would have expected. Photo: File

North Canterbury farmers are hoping for a good growing season, but it's still unclear whether nature will deliver it.

Federated Farmers North Canterbury arable chairman Roscoe Taggart says soil conditions are ideal for sowing crops and a rise in soil temperatures will soon see farmers making hay while the sun shines.

''It's very good at the moment. We had a very mild winter and a few little showers have set us up well.

''It's looking better than average, but soil temperatures are slightly lower than I would have thought.''

Mr Taggart says his last soil test found temperatures at 7.5 degrees Celsius, not the 10 degrees he expected.

That temperature is ideal for drilling, but more sun is needed to get the grass growing a bit faster.

''To be honest, it's probably about average. People talk about a normal season, but what is that? It might be the perfect season, or what we want but never really get.

''If you look at last season, from mid-November it kept raining, whereas the year before it didn't, so somewhere in between would be better.''

BA Murray Contractors manager Steve Murray says the mild winter means his crews are cutting some early silage.

''We've done a bit of silage so far this season and we've got some more to do this week, depending on the weather, but that's only paddocks where they haven't had stock on since June.

''The grass only starts to move at five degrees, but of course the warmer it gets, it holds on to its temperature a bit longer.

''But it's not unusual for this time of year, it's just the seasonal change coming through. We're not getting as much rain as we used to get at this time of year.''

Mr Murray says soil conditions are ideal for sowing crops, but unless soil temperatures warm up those crops will be slow in becoming established.

''With the way farming is done these days, you've got to get the crops in the ground and hope like hell it grows quickly.

''You can't be patient like in granddad's day.''

He says the mild weather has allowed his crews to be working on cultivation since the beginning of August, sowing some barley and fixing up paddocks which have been grazed over winter ''and putting them back into grass''.

Now is also the time to plant fodder beet and other crops for next winter's grazing.