Southern farmers are dealing with a vicious cycle of problems as Omicron sweeps through the South Island.
Federated Mark Patterson says it's a "perfect storm".
"We've got an emerging dry, staff shortages and Covid outbreaks within the workforce within the works," he said.
"The pressure's sort of building at a peak time at the season."
Meat processing plants are struggling to take in stock.
Even with strict protocols, many workers are catching Covid-19 or having to isolate at home.
Many plants are operating at well below capacity, with some as low as 50%.
Silver Fern Farms, which has 14 processing sites across the country, has been significantly affected.
"That has a big impact on pushing animals further out into the season as farmers need to wait for processing time," Silver Fern Farms supply chain general manager Dan Boulton said.
There's a three-week delay on getting sheep away, and farmers could be waiting up to eight weeks to send cattle into processing.
The Meat Industry Association says it isn't the only issue the sector is facing, however.
"Over and above that, there's clearly pockets within New Zealand that are facing drought conditions and that's making it challenging," chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said.
But with a backlog to get animals into plants, it means more mouths to feed on the farm.
And with feed at a premium due to drought-like conditions, it's making it tough.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand says it's "crunch time" in the season, and farmers urgently want to exit stock.
"At this particular time of the year, it's mating time on sheep and beef farms for our sheep, so farmers are really focused on really good nutrition for their ewes," chief executive Sam McIvor said.
"They're prioritising their ewes and they don't want any extra mouths on the ground that they don't need."
He says planning ahead is vital, and farmers need to be prepared for multiple scenarios.
"Keeping in close contact with their processor on a weekly basis to make sure that they have the latest intelligence information to make good decisions," he said.
"Doing a feed budget, prioritising animal groups, constant reviewing of the situation and constant communication with others in the value chain."
McIvor says Kiwi farmers are agile and are able to deal with climatic and market variability because of their understanding of livestock nutrition and markets.
"It's a challenging situation but our farmers are good at this stuff and they'll get through it successfully."
Karapeeva says while the North Island is through the worst of the disruption, "as the situation moves further south, we're expecting that some of those delays and wait times are going to lengthen the further south you go as Covid sort of catches up with communities".
Plants are reconfiguring shifts to try and remain operational.
They're lengthening the processing season to ensure all stock that needs to be taken off farms can be processed, and moving stock around to ease the pain in certain regions.
Boulton says Silver Fern Farms' 6000 staff nationwide have done "a phenomenal job".
"Not only are they doing their normal job but all the extra protocols and processes that we've got to put in place to work around Omicron and that's been a huge burden and we can't be more proud of what they've achieved.
"We really recognise that and I know our farmers recognise that as well."
He said they "can't be grateful enough for them" and their hard work over the past two years.
"We're really looking forward to getting through the back of Omicron and trying to get back to some normality."
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