Mother nature’s cruel hand — Editorial

The sight of some North Island farms is heart-breaking as farmers try to cope with an unusually wet spring.

The rain and the resulting mud have come right on calving and mating time and made difficult jobs much harder, not to mention the cost implications.

In some ways it’s not dissimilar to what farmers in Ireland have been experiencing with the heavy rain, though their problems are in the summer. But it seems the rains came in exactly the same months.

Dairy farmers in the North Island had a morale boost with Fonterra lifting the predicted farmgate milk price, but suddenly any benefit from this has been virtually wiped out by the rain.

Farmers were forced to feed out in autumn and winter and now this has extended into spring for many, putting severe pressure on budgets and cashflows.

In many ways farmers’ profitability hinges on the unpredictable and fickle nature of the weather. It is possible to have some control over most other factors, but not the weather. Farmers are now very good at planning for adverse events, but there is a limit to what they can do in a tight environment.

Farmers have heeded the messages from advisors such as DairyNZ and focused on getting the best out of their pastures. They have also reduced stock numbers to ease the pressure on pastures and to retain only the higher producing cows. But a combination of rain and heavy soils has put paid to all of this and it would seem that for many farmers in the North Island the season is out of kilter with last year.

Production is down on many farms and a lot are still not at peak milking. Unless there is a sudden change in the weather, farm incomes will be down and dairy exports may be too.

One wonders how many townies watching the weather on television understand the implications of this for the primary sector and ultimately for them.

The weather is not just about the implications for holidays; for farmers the weather forecast directly affects their livelihood and families. Long adverse weather causes depression and this latest bout is no exception. It’s time for farmers to look after themselves and their mates to get through this difficult time.