Flies latest torment for drought-afflicted

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 listed on a whiteboard as one of the challenges provided by the long, hot summer.

Midsummer rain predicted for Thursday and Friday 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 flies.

The dry stretch has already made ts presence felt, with eight of the 11 farmers attending the discussion group moving to oncea-day milking (OAD) because of reduced pasture growth.

A few of the farmers have milked once a day through the season, including the host farm, Massey University’s No 1 dairy farm and two others.

Many of them stopped twicedaily milking last month, earlier than usual, as they tried to maintain cow condition and sought 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 – almost one a fortnight.

The handout also contains a wellbeing calendar that balances resources against challenges.