The images usually come from the bottom half of the South Island and kick off what has become an annual debate about intensive winter grazing.
This week, right on schedule, photos and drone footage were released showing cows standing and lying in deep mud in Southland and Otago.
The images were used by environmentalist Angus Robson to launch a campaign against intensive winter grazing, which he says is a “massive environmental and animal welfare issue”.
He wants to see tighter rules and better enforcement of regulations to pull the industry’s laggards into line.
But for many Kiwis who didn’t grow up in gumboots, the whole issue can be about as clear as mud. So what’s it all about?
Also known as ‘winter cropping’ or ‘wintering on crops’, intensive winter grazing is when livestock like cattle, sheep and deer are strip fed a crop.
In the dairy industry, it’s typically kale (cows were wolfing it way before it was trendy), fodder beet or swedes.
As the herd finishes one section of the crop, the farmer opens up another strip, letting the animals eat their way through the paddock in a controlled manner.