Fly influx problem for dairy farmers
Pesky flies thriving in the heat are making the lives of dairy farmers and cows even more difficult on Manawatu¯ farms.
Dairy farmers were swatting them during a Manawatu¯ discussion group meeting in the Linton and Tokomaru area and they must have been on their minds, as flies were among the challenges from the long, hot summer they listed on a whiteboard.
Midsummer rain would be welcomed by farmers, but it remains to be seen if the break in the weather will provide relief from the dry spell and the fly outbreak.
The dry stretch has already made its presence, felt with eight of the 11 farmers attending the discussion group moving to oncea-day milking (OAD).
A few have milked once a day through the season, including the host farm, Massey University’s Number One dairy farm.
Many of them stopped twicedaily milking last month, earlier than usual as they tried to maintain cow condition and in order to buy less supplementary feed.
Farmer Brian Underwood said he started OAD in early December when the drought bit, as he wanted to conserve cow condition and allow crops to grow well.
‘‘Sourcing winter feed and building pasture cover will be a problem,’’ said Dairynz consulting officer Scott Cameron.
He said farmers needed to monitor their wellbeing. He provided the farmers with a ‘‘five pillars’’ handout to help them cope with the trying conditions.
‘‘Connect and give, keep learning, be safe and plan, rest and take notice and be active and eat well.’’
The handout showed 12 per cent of dairy farmers nationally were suffering from burnout, a quarter reported exhaustion, a third had sleep problems and 23 rural people had committed suicide each year.
The handout also included a wellbeing calculator and farmers in the discussion group were asked to fill it out.
The calculator included resources, such as feed on hand, family and community, as well as the challenges.
‘‘The resources and challenges need to be balanced to give us a sense of wellbeing,’’ said Cameron.
Farmer Pat Daly asked what they should do about their wellbeing ‘‘when it hasn’t rained for two months and the hayshed is empty’’.
Glen Oroua farmer Christine Finnigan said farmers needed everything to be broken down to ‘‘see what you can influence’’.
‘‘Weather, feed, you can let things get you down. You have to create choices and it’s not always easy.’’
Cameron said going OAD gave farmers a chance to think and relax rather than milk for hours each day.
‘‘Make a decision early. Just make it. Live with it and move on,’’ said Underwood.
Finnigan said she runs ideas past a former employee and talks to staff.
‘‘This year we made no hay. If that’s the case then talk to contractors, they often know who has spare and is selling some. They’re very helpful. The industry is very supportive if you talk to them.’’
❚ Your local Rural Support Trust – 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP)