‘Green drought’ kicks in

Speaking to Dairy News during a visit to farms in Manawatu and Tararua, he noted that while many pastures have ‘greened up’, the country is nowhere near the end of the drought. Some regions have had very little rain – “Northland, parts of Waikato, King Country, Rangitikei and parts of Hawke’s Bay”.

Guy says he is impressed at farmers’ incredible resilience, given the challenges they face: “… drought, floods, snowstorms and earthquakes. They will get through this present crisis and the feedback I am getting is they are happy with the government response to their plight and the packages we have announced. Most farmers aren’t interested in a handout, what they want to know is that the government cares and responds.”

Most New Zealanders are sympathetic to the situation rural New Zealand families find themselves in, Guy says. The barbecue season has been too long this summer, and urban New Zealand understands the drought has caused heartache for rural families

Guy says it’s too early to quantify the overall effect of the drought on dairy farmers. 

News of the Fonterra advance payment has been well received and will help farmers pay for the additional supplementary feed they need.

During a recent visit by Guy to the West Coast he heard from “older” farmers that “in living memory they have never experienced a drought of [this] magnitude. One said it was like whole areas had been sprayed with Roundup – brown and dreadful looking. But since the recent rain it’s turned around incredibly quickly and now all the green tinges are appearing.”

The Coasters, like farmers elsewhere, are worried about the winter rapidly approaching and soil temperatures falling because of frosts.