Drought’s effects set to linger on

While the drought in Nelson-Tasman has been broken, for some farmers the effects of the dry weather may be felt until springtime.

The lateness of the drought, combined with the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown, has meant many farmers are short on feed for their livestock as they head into winter.

The Top of the South Drought Committee is urging rural property owners to take steps now to ensure they have the means to look after their animals during the winter months.

Nelson Federated Farmers chairman Martin O’Connor said the pressure was still on some stock owners worst affected by the summer/autumn drought.

Months of low rainfall have left parts of Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough with very little pasture growth to support farm animals.

O’Connor said in Nelson-Tasman, places like the Motueka Valley, Moutere, and Tapawera had been worst hit.

He said although rain had arrived for those areas, the window for growing winter feed was closing – as temperatures cooled and daylight hours shortened.

O’Connor said many farmers had already used up supplements and were already making inroads into their winter feed to keep herds fed.

The usual solution of destocking had also been made more complicated by the closure of saleyards and delays at meat processors as a consequence of Covid-19 safety measures.

Top of the South Rural Support Trust chairman Richard Kempthorne said while drought was not a new situation for farmers, the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown had complicated matters.

Kempthorne said the trust was especially mindful that lifestyle block owners may be unfamiliar with planning months in advance for their animals.

He said while fulltime farmers had the benefit of a wide range of contacts to help supply feed or organise destocking, this was not necessarily the case for lifestyle or hobby farmers.

‘‘Get support for feed planning by calling your trusted advisor, talk to your normal feed supplier, use one of the free feed planning services, check the AgriHQ feed noticeboard, and secure sufficient feed for the next few months,’’ Kempthorne said.

‘‘And call us on 0800 RURAL HELP if you would like someone to talk to – we are free and confidential.’’

Kempthorne said destocking needed to be planned early as well.

He said farmers needed to contact their local agent, electronic buy/sell groups, and local processing plant representatives as early as possible, to check their current protocols and wait times.

Ministry for Primary Industries animal welfare officer Paul Soper said farmers were acutely aware that they were responsible for the welfare of their animals.

‘‘We are here to assist rural property owners to understand choices they can make to look after animals through this challenging time.

‘‘No-one wants to see stressed animals and stressed owners so talk to your trusted advisor, your vet, or get in contact with us or one of the support agencies.’’

‘‘We are here to assist rural property owners to understand choices they can make.’’ Paul Soper

Ministry for Primary Industries animal welfare officer