While conditions are extremely dry farmers are coping because they have enough supplementary feed.
Waikato Primary Industry Adverse Event Cluster Core Group chairman Neil Bateup said farmer morale is still reasonable because they can still feed and milk their cows and there is a high dairy payout.
“Most people will get to the end of the month without too many problems and then it may start to get more difficult.”
He urged younger farmers experiencing their first dry summer not to stay silent or isolate themselves.
“There’s help out there, talk to other farmers who have been through it before, ring the Rural Support Trust, DairyNZ or Beef + Lamb.”
The conditions are putting pressure on farmers whose domestic supply relies on rainwater with a two-week waiting period for water tankers to replenish their tanks.
Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said northern Waikato is almost entirely in a severe meteorological drought.
“In terms of looking at it in a historical context it hasn’t been this dry from a meteorological drought perspective since 2012-13.”
The leftovers of Cyclone Uesi, expected to deliver rain to the South Island, could drag moist and humid air to the North Island. That could create an environment more favorable for showers and thunderstorms early this week.
“The back half of February will have some opportunities for rainfall in the North Island.”
In March there is a chance of a dry pattern early in the month following the increased likelihood of rain.
Waikato Federated Farmers also met to discuss the situation. Farmers on the executive are banking on decent rain in March.
Te Aroha farmer Brian Steele has seen it all before when it comes to a dry February.
Palm kernel prices are up $100 a tonne on a year ago and while meat processors are busy, farmers can still get stock away.
“I’d rather have a six to eight-week dry spell now and get a good autumn, which I think we’ll get.
“We’ll farm through it. We’ve farmed through it before and we’ll farm through it again,” he said.
Hamilton farmer John Bluett said it is the first time he has seen Waikato’s east and west coasts this dry.
He urged farmers to make sure they have a proper financial plan. The dry spell will cause incomes to fall despite the good milk forecast.
However, arable chairman John Hodge said a drought declaration should be made.
“It must be time to declare a drought area in Waikato and involve the Government and banks to help farmers through this difficult time,” he said.
Some parts of his maize crop are so bad he cannot bring himself to look at it.
The crop damage is patchy. The plants on heavier soils are coping well but those on lighter soils are being devastated.
Some farms in his district are so bare of grass it is unreal and the lack of rain will affect maize silage yields as harvesting gets under way.
“Progress reports suggest tonnage is well down because the cobs have formed but have not had the moisture to fill the grain to good levels,” he said.
Many farmers are running out of grass but don’t want to use grass silage because it will be needed in the winter.
“Because of this concern they are going to chop maize because it is not really ready and it will affect the grain stover level.”
This will affect the silage’s quality, effectively turning it to green feed.
The cluster group plans to meet again in two weeks to reassess the situation.
