Southland farmers battling a lack of rain have been invited to drought support meetings in Otautau on Thursday, and Gore on Friday, at which the current dry weather pattern would be put into context, management ideas exchanged along with advice on how to prepare for winter.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand southern South Island extension manager, Olivia Ross, said the last significant rain was about 30mm that fell in northern Southland over Christmas and New Year, with variable falls over the rest of the province.
But since then temperatures have regularly hit 30C, accompanied by drying wind.
“It is a great summer to be holiday. It is unheard of for Southland to be this dry,” Ross said.
“It can get dry for short periods, but Southlanders aren’t used to it.”
There has been discussion about seeking the area to be declaring a drought zone but whether or not that happens would become clearer after this week’s meetings at which the Ministry for Primary Industries would be attending.
Ross said a Southland Drought Committee would start meeting weekly to provide updates on how the region was coping.
Farmers have been quitting surplus stock, and Ross said a Federated Farmers feedline was being activated to link those with feed or grazing and those in need.
Recent rain in Taranaki was too patchy to provide widespread relief, with those on the coast getting about 10mm but other parts 50mm.
The region’s Rural Support Trust co-ordinator Marcia Paurini said while welcomed, the rain didn’t provide widespread relief.
Many dairy farmers were still milking either once a day or every 16 hours, and she said the pressures of preparing for winter and juggling finances remained.
Five rural facilitators were being trained this week to assist Taranaki farming families apply for Rural Assistance Payments made available by the Government.
Paurini said the long-term effect of the summer drought was starting to materialise, with farms not selling, few sharemilking jobs and farmers trying to work out how to get through winter.
