Kale animal fodder crops on some Bay of Plenty and Waikato farms are being hit by stem rot and farmers are advised to check their plants for signs of collapse.

'The stems are rotting from the inside out and plants are collapsing. It's apparently happening pretty quickly,” says Bill Webb of Bill Webb Feed Solutions of Te Puke.

Some kale fodder crops are being affected by stem rot.

'Farmers need to inspect their crops and if they look like they are affected, break feed them now while they still have feed value, rather than wait until they fall over.”

Wet humid weather is probably the cause of the rot and infected crops won't last until winter when livestock are usually give access to the crops through break feeding.

'Even if plants have stem rot it's OK to feed to stock, so long as farmers watch nitrate levels.

'Once the kale has been eaten, getting the paddocks back into pasture or another winter annual as soon as possible is the best plan.”

Farmers whose kale crops have to be fed out early may then be short of winter grazing. 'We still have some grazing available if farmers need it,” says Bill.