‘Crunch’ time for decisions in the parched north

The dry is affecting beef finishing in Northland, and DairyNZ is sounding warnings on pasture preservation. But Federated Farmers Waikato dairy spokesman Chris Lewis says weather extremes are a fact of modern farming and most farmers will have a plan in place.

Beef+Lamb NZ ‘s northern North Island extension manager Thomas Creswell  told Rural News  Northland was “very dry for sheep and beef and the dairy guys are the same”.  

“The dry weather and the lack of rain is only half the story; the other half is wind. It is drying everything out, pasture growth has dropped off, quality has dived and our performance is suffering. So the guys aren’t finishing stock as they normally would be at this time.”

Creswell said late last week rain was forecast so they were “sitting on the edge of their seats” hoping it would come.

Beef+Lamb extension manager for mid North Island Erica van Reenen says in Waikato there’s a reasonable amount of feed around so it is a “watching brief”.  

Lewis, at Pukeatua near Te Awamutu, says feedback particularly from farmers on sandier soils is that pastures have dried-off; they have minimal feed and are considering a high level of supplements or once-a-day milking.

Some farmers went through maize stocks in winter and spring because it was wet and buying in a lot of supplement with the current payout may not be economic.

“If this carries on for another week it will be decision making time. But farmers have been through a few droughts in the last four to five years and most have a plan in place. Animal welfare and feeding cows properly is top of our list.”

Federated Farmers Northland president Matt Long says: “Some areas are severely dry and we definitely need some rain. Production is falling on the dairy farms, the beef processes are falling and all your typical dry weather things.”

DairyNZ regional team leader Craig McBeth says a key focus for dry North Island farmers should be keeping a core group of cows milking until pasture growth recovers. 

“Implementing some culling and tallying up supplements are important actions right now,” says McBeth. “It’s also important to manage pasture condition and not over-graze, so when it does rain, pastures are in good shape to respond.”