AginED | 29th August, 2022

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Volume 120 I August 29th, 2022 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz/agined Are you a parent or teacher and want to receive AginED every week directly to your email inbox? Send us an email to sign up at agined@globalhq.co.nz

Above is the store lamb throughput graph from a recent sale at Stortford Lodge Lamb throughput swelled to 9000 lambs on the 17th August which is well above usual levels. 1

Photo credit: Suz Bremner

These two pens started the lamb section and, while of similar weight near 60kg, the short wool line sold for $230 while the woolly pen made $208 1

2 Why is it likely that there will be a push to offload lambs that may have been held on to till this point?

Why do you think that the short wool line managed a $22 premium on the similar weighted woolly pen?

2 Looking at the following tables from a recent sale at Stortford Lodge was this a trend that continued throughout the sale?

Looking at these tables: 1

Read on to find out; Orographic Rainfall can cause flooding in NZ

Which lambs made the top per head price?

2 Did this line also make the top $/kg price?

3 From the tables give two examples that follow this pattern? Find and record one example that does not follow that trend and give some possible explanations for why this may be.

Have you been in one town where it feels like it is always raining but then just over the other side of the ranges/ mountains it feels like they are often needing rain. How does this work?

3 Do you think buyers at the sale are more interested in per head or $/kg prices? Explain why you think this is the case..

Can you find examples of this in the coming week? 1

See our rain accumulation maps here: https://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/mapsradars/rain/accumulative-rainfall

2 Now visit RuralWeather.co.nz and start searching for locations in those wettest areas 3 What are the biggest daily rainfall totals you can find? 4 Now look for the nearest mountains/ranges to that wet location - can you find much lower rainfall totals on the other side, where it's much drier?

What goes up, must come down. The recent Nelson and Golden Bay/Takaka flooding is an example of "orographic rainfall" - this is when rain clouds run into a mountain range, so the moist air is lifted up over the mountain tops and this process cools the air and condenses it - or put simply, it makes the rain heavier and more prolonged. In NZ we frequently see this on the West Coast - super wet in Fiordland (one of the wettest places on earth) and yet just 100km away is Central Otago - by far our driest region. Why is that? The mountains not only do a good job at blocking the rain from moving over them, but they tend to dry out the weather on the other side. This can lead to flooding on one side of the hills and not much to talk about on the other.

Rainfall seems to follow a feast or famine analogy. We are often complaining that we have too much or not enough. Infiltration tests can be very useful to those using land for productive purposes. WHAT IS AN INFILTRATION TEST? Follow this link https://www.farmersweekly. co.nz/how-to-do-an-infiltration-test/ to learn more and then answer the following questions. You can also have a go at conducting your own test.

Can you outline what you think has contributed to such a high collective tally at a time where lamb numbers are usually easing? What makes this year different from prior years levels? (Hint: what may have impacted processor space and think about this years local climate in Hawkes Bay and growth rates)

Conditions have been challenging in several areas throughout New Zealand in the last few weeks. Listen to the following “Wrap up of farming conditions around NZ” from Radio NZ at https://www.rnz.co.nz/ programmes/regional-wrap/story/2018854365/onthe-farm-a-wrap-of-farming-conditions-around-nz 1

How are lambing and calving fairing?

2 What are some of the challenges on farms and orchards from recent weather conditions? 3 How do farmers and horticulturalists prepare for forecast heavy rain events?

1 What is an infiltration test measuring? 2 Why is this test useful to farmers and horticulturalists?

STRETCH YOURSELF: 1

What equipment do you need to conduct an infiltration test?

2 When is the best time to conduct an infiltration test? 3 Why is it wise to conduct these tests in several different places on farm? 4 What should ideal soil look like? Why are these soils ideal? 5 Define the following terms: Aggregate, microbiome.


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