A decision on whether the Bay of Plenty will be declared a drought zone is expected later today.

Federated Farmers are meeting with officials from the Ministry of Primary Industries and the Waikato Regional Council in Hamilton today.

The meeting is to discuss whether or not Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Coromandel and Waikato will be declared official drought zones.

A state of drought was officially declared in Northland earlier this week, and at the time Minster for Primary Industries Nathan Guy says other regions were likely to follow.

'This is recognition that we are now beyond what is a normal dry summer, and into an extreme climatic event. The entire North Island is extremely dry, but Northland is one of the worst-hit areas.”

The declaration of a medium-scale event means that extra Government funding is available to coordinate support through local organisations like the Rural Support Trusts. In extreme cases there will also be Rural Assistance Payments (RAPs) available to farmers in severe hardship.

'This drought decision has been made after receiving advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries, including soil moisture data from NIWA, and in consultation with the local community. It applies to the area north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge.”