After a phenomenal summer, central Otago farmers were brought back to earth last week.
Country Life reports that around 15cm of snow fell overnight on Thursday, bringing everything to a halt.
Before that, stacking hay in barns was the big job for the week, with record levels of feed and hay being taken in.
Fruit growers in Otago also took a pounding from the weather.
Lots of cherries were destroyed by rain, and apricots that are nearly ready for picking suffered as well.
Nectarines were hit the hardest, with predictions of a drop on last year's take of between 20% - 40%.
