Trust chairman Mike Eagles and co-ordinator Julie Jonker said they were coming under increased pressure to provide services such as one-on-one business advice.
“Our people will be called upon to provide assistance where they can,” Eagles said.
Guy visited the sheep-and-beef farm of the Blackwell family in the Kaipara hill country between Dargaville and Ruawai to see for himself the parlous position of farmers in the region.
That followed the classification of Northland’s west coast as a localised drought area under the loose framework in government regulations for a small-scale adverse event.
An adverse event must be medium-scale – effectively province-wide – before Rural Support Trusts get funding beyond their annual running costs to pay advisers and counsellors.
It is understood the Ministry for Primary Industries is preparing a case to take to Guy for more money for the trusts in Northland and Waikato.
“We have been relying on palm kernel to feed dry cows and if rain doesn’t come by May the winter is going to be very harsh.”
Northland farmer
A small group of drystock and dairy farmers who attended Guy’s visit to the Blackwells’ farm highlighted aspects of the drought.
The main concerns were grazing needs, a looming shortage of palm kernel, fears of late pasture resowing, the difficult position of lower-order sharemilkers, and the need for more irrigation feasibility studies.
Palm kernel suppliers have been accused of reneging on contracts and suggestions the spot market was closed, pending a shipment later this month.
“We have been relying on palm kernel to feed dry cows and if rain doesn’t come by May the winter is going to be very harsh,” a dairy farmer said.
John Blackwell said his rainfall figures for the past 18 months had been below average.
“It is quite a small area of Northland adversely affected and a lot of the rest of the province doesn’t realise how hard it is here,” he told Guy.
Northland Regional Council executive Tony Phipps said three of the driest years for rainfall in the district over the past 70 years had occurred in the past four years.
“This is a very severe localised adverse event, which doesn’t meet the criteria of medium-scale,” he said.
Guy said he was bullish about the diversity and productivity of Northland, which had agriculture, horticulture, forestry, tourism, and natural resource opportunities.
He encouraged Northland communities to access the irrigation acceleration fund.
Phipps said an application was being prepared for a feasibility study and would be lodged when the local share was secured.
