2 Our new weather man Vol 17 No 1, January 8, 2018
farmersweekly.co.nz
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Rain a big relief T
HE wild storm that ripped a path down the North Island last week proved to be a gift with a sharp clause attached for farmers in the Bay of Plenty and southern Waikato regions. Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers president Darryl Jensen welcomed the rain on his Paengaroa property that delivered 95mm, more than the total rainfall for November and December combined. However, the twist in the summer storm’s tail proved to be exceptionally high winds after the rainfall. As disgruntled holiday makers grappled with fly-away tents, the winds also cut power to many farmers in the region. This had left some farms, including Jenkins’, facing no power for up to 48 hours. “We are lucky in that we can milk our cows through the neighbours’ dairy, but I was surprised at the time we were told it would take. It seems we were hit with a blown transformer that has taken out our end of the network,” he said. The wild sweep of weather is another event in what has proven a particularly challenging year for farmers in Bay of Plenty. Dozens of properties further east at Edgecumbe were hit hard by cyclones Debbie and Cook falling within 10 days of each other in late March, leaving pastures silt damaged and maize crops unharvested. With year-to-date rainfall totals up to 50% above average by August, the region then struggled
RELIEF: Despite having to milk his cows at the neighbours because of a power outage during last week’s storm, Bay of Plenty farmer Darryl Jensen still welcomed the rain. Photo: Richard Rennie
with hot, dry conditions from mid-October. “There are still farmers in the region with issues around silted land that has not been able to be resown since the silt went like concrete, and now needs to be completely turned over,” Jensen said. Over the Kaimai Range, Hauraki farmers were also welcoming a decent wash of rainfall in a district that had also experienced intense flooding in autumn. Elstow farmer Lorraine King had received 40-50mm across the family’s farms that included a property further west at Orini, an amount that proved timely as they started to consider options over diminishing feed supplies.
“Everyone here is very happy that it has not been so heavy to pond-up, and it has all soaked in – we were really looking down the barrel of having to make some tough decisions before this,” she said. Further south in Waikato, Federated Farmers national dairy president Chris Lewis had also sighed with relief at the storm’s moisture content. “We had everything ready for a dry spell with 40ha of maize and 35ha of chicory, but the dry period came earlier on what is supposed to be a summer-safe farm,” Lewis said. “We were able to feed some chicory before Christmas. We could not have been any more
prepared supplement-wise and the chicory was a bit of a lifesaver then, but this rain is very welcome now.” He was resigned to two to three weeks of supplements being fed as grass reserves built up, and was hoping some followup rain may be in store over coming days. Farmers in the Rotorua-Taupo district were similarly pleased with the rain. Federated Farmers provincial president Alan Wills said rain had varied between 60-80mm around the region, after only receiving 40mm in total over NovemberDecember. “This makes a huge difference. It will take a while to recover, but
this gives us a good chance to do that.” He hadn’t dried-off any of his herd, and was looking forward to his turnip crop having a good boost post-rain. Dry coastal Taranaki received some falls of rain over the holiday period to improve morale, Federated Farmers dairy chairwoman Janet Schultz said. Follow-up rain was needed and coastal dairy farmers still faced a long road, she said. An excess of standing drymatter plus moisture could create the conditions for facial eczema, so preventative measures would be needed. Many herds had gone to 16hour or once-a-day milking, while some of the larger properties had dried off two- and three-year-olds, Schultz said. Two months without rain meant that crops hadn’t germinated properly and not enough silage was made. “The rest of the season will be lean for many Taranaki dairy farmers, so we need to keep looking out for one another,” she said. Northland received very useful falls of rain to begin 2018, DairyNZ regional manager Chris Neill said. “This will become effective as pasture in 10 days, before which there will hopefully be follow-up rain to sustain growth and milk production,” he said. All districts received between 60-100mm over Thursday and Friday from the first ex-tropical storm event of 2018. “Farmers will be feeling more confident about the prospects for the rest of the season,” Neill said.
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