The heaviest falls appeared to be in northern areas – the zone around Cheviot, Waiau and Parnassus – which really needed it, Canterbury Federated Farmers chairwoman Lynda Murchison said.
Lucerne and pasture were boosted and the rain was really good for winter feed crops.
North Canterbury has had four years of drought with just a few periods of rainy respite . . . January and again in spring last year, January this year was reasonable and now the early March rain. February was very hot and dry.
“It will lift the mood and keep us going for another month but we’ve been here before with a good rain and then nothing more. We need good rain each week for a couple of weeks.”
Farmers had still not restocked fully from the days when they culled sheep and cattle during the worst days of the drought and pasture growth with the rain came at a good time for ewe flocks, ahead of the mating season.
Many farmers had reasonable levels of supplementary feed.
Two or three years of wet winters were needed to fully recharge aquifers and end the drought, Murchison said.
