Unwelcome frosts add to drought woes
Farmers battling drought across Hawke’s Bay say the bracing cold in mornings where temperatures have been below zero is the last thing they need right now.
Frost blanketed Hawke’s Bay again yesterday morning, with another forecast for today.
In Napier’s CBD the overnight Thursday temperature was minus 0.3 degrees Celsius, while at Hawke’s Bay Airport it was -1C, MetService meteorologist Andrew James said.
Hastings woke to -0.9C, Wairoa just hit the positives with 0.3C and the Takapau Plains were again the coldest at -3.1C.
Coastal areas such as Napier, Hastings and Wairoa were colder yesterday than Thursday making it their coldest mornings of the year.
The frost is not good news for farmers who are still very much in drought, Federated Farmers Hawke’s Bay president Jim Galloway said.
Galloway said the frost drops soil temperature which slows grass growth.
Farmers are becoming “more and more worried every day” and most are in a “dire situation”, he said.
The cool also had the potential to cause problems for earlyseason lambs.
CHB farmer Sarah Gray said their lambing season is earlier than other farmers but one Thursday-born lamb was only found in the paddock because she heard him. The new lamb spent Thursday night inside sheltering from the cold and being fed before returning to his mum in the morning.
Gray said they have a few other early lambs in the same paddock who are fighting fit.
Galloway said a decent dollop of rain last weekend and the Rapa Feed Run had helped farmers feel better, but more substantial rain is needed very quickly.
The feed donations from elsewhere in the country have “quite literally been a lifesaver for some”.
Rain is expected on Monday “but sheltering from the ranges means that it is likely not to be the relief everyone is hoping for,” James said.
Without significant rain and grass growth soon, farmers will have to continue to rely on feed from elsewhere in the country to get them through the winter.
Galloway said funding from the Government Budget and Hawke’s Bay Mayoral Drought Relief fund would help a significant number of people but is not enough to fix the problem.
Overnight temperatures are expected to be warmer over the weekend, with 5C to 6C expected overnight today heading into tomorrow and lows in the double digits expected tomorrow heading into Monday.