“The toughest decisions in 98 were made about now and we are at that same stage again in this drought.
“While we have planned to get through the dry, now it’s about how we get the stock through the winter and the tough decisions for lambing and calving in the spring.”
Gawith said a lot of stock had left the district and it was getting hard to get grazing in Wairarapa.
“As the autumn dry impacted wider and upwards into Hawke’s Bay we have to go further and further north to get grazing.”
Gawith said supplementary feed was an option for stock management until now and through winter but breeding stock would be the concern come spring.
“These are decision farmers must make now so they don’t get caught short come lambing and calving.
“The spring is shaping up to be pretty critical so I really encourage farmers to make the tough decisions now.”
Gawith said accurate longer term weather predictions had become an important tool for farm management.
“It’s not just about forecasting, it’s the weather patterns and forward predictions from identifying those patterns that farmers need so we can make informed decisions in farm planning and management.”
