{"id":19034,"date":"2016-05-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-26T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/rain-not-falling-where-needed\/"},"modified":"2016-05-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-05-26T12:00:00","slug":"rain-not-falling-where-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/news\/rain-not-falling-where-needed\/","title":{"rendered":"Rain not falling where needed"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

The rain just didn\u2019t seem to want to fall on north Canterbury and the battle was on to find winter grazing for stock, Rural Livestock agent Kevin Rowe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time last year I had 10,000 sheep away at grazing, anywhere from five minutes to five hours away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho would have thought we would be doing the same again.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this year while we are hearing there is feed around farmers are just not coming forward. It\u2019s frustrating and meantime stock are waiting at the gate to go,\u201d Rowe said.<\/p>\n

He urged farmers able to take on grazing to come forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of my fellas would be pretty happy to get hoggets out on a per head per week option \u2013 we are desperate for grazing right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Other options could be negotiated including share-farming and liveweight gain arrangements.<\/p>\n

While in-lamb sheep were top of the list, grazing was also sought for replacement heifers and beef cows.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d rural support trust co-ordinator Doug Archbold said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there was a spattering of rain across the region, in some parts good rain, but where rain is most needed there was just 10-20mm and now the cold blast has put snow on the hills so it\u2019s situation no-change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cStock is still going out and feed is still coming in. There is a lot of frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussion on extending the drought declaration was in progress with the Ministry for Primary Industries and the drought committee had been assured there would be an announcement about the situation before the declaration expired on June 30.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis year while we are hearing there is feed around farmers are just not coming forward. It\u2019s frustrating and meantime stock are waiting at the gate to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Rowe.<\/p>\n

Rural Livestock<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, farmers were looking forward to packing their bags for some reprieve at the Mystery Creek Field Days.<\/p>\n

The venture north was initiated by Omihi sheep and beef farmer Nick Hamilton.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll my stock has gone away so I had time to think about what could be done to help lift morale in the region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With Federated Farmers north Canterbury meat and fibre chairman Dan Hodgen he mustered $65,000 in sponsorship to get 100 farmers to the event.<\/p>\n

The sponsorship, from national entities, regional and local businesses, would cover airfares, accommodation, food and beverages for the two days at a cost of $200 a farmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been huge support for sponsorship and 100% farmer uptake so it\u2019s going to be a trip that will at least lift the spirits off farm,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

The legacy of two years of less than half the normal rainfall was now deeply affecting the whole community, Hurunui mayor Winton Dalley said.<\/p>\n

The drought had caused great stress and huge financial cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecovery from this event, which is not yet over, will take some time,\u201d Dalley said.<\/p>\n

Rain in Wairarapa, while not a drought-breaker, had filled water tanks and got farmers smiling, Federated Farmers provincial chairman Jamie Falloon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost definitely a welcome rain. It hasn\u2019t got streams flowing but it\u2019s filled water tanks and lifted spirits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean everything is solved. We are still dealing with the dry conditions. We are a long way off from being out of the woods but certainly a good start to kick things off,\u201d Falloon said.<\/p>\n

In south Canterbury resilience had become a focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dictionary describes resilience as the ability to recover quickly from unpleasant and damaging events,\u201d provincial president Mark Adams said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hearing this word a lot lately as business commentators encourage us to build buffers into our farm systems so that we can better survive when times are tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll good advice but hugely annoying when you haven\u2019t had time in the game to achieve a strong foundation or climate, weak pricing and variables outside of your control continue to undermine your own financial position.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears to me that business resilience is largely a product of age and experience and something we are all aiming for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe top 20% are showing us that by refocusing we can begin to grow our own personal resilience,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rain over the past week did little to lift the spirits of north Canterbury farmers as the urgent call for off-farm grazing goes out.\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":19035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t