Big dry teetering on drought

Farmers in Waikato could be looking at a drought scenario if the big dry stays put.

Meteorologist Ben Noll, of the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, said soil moisture levels in Waikato were sitting well below normal for this time of year.

Thames and Coromandel towns have a total watering ban in place meaning all water use outside the house is prohibited. Watering gardens and lawns, washing cars and houses, and filling paddling pools is banned.

Residents have been urged to conserve water urgently as treatment plants in the area have reached maximum production rate.

So far during February, Hamilton itself has had only 0.4 millimetres of rainfall.

Noll said the driest point in the Waikato is along the west coast.

All eyes are now on Friday and Saturday with the hope that weather patterns could change due to a cyclone from Vanuatu moving toward New Zealand. The Metservice predicts the cyclone could bring rain on both Friday and Saturday.

Federated Farmers Waikato president Andrew Mcgiven said that while grass was turning from lush green to brown, it was still ‘‘business as usual for farmers’’. ‘‘We try and plan for some sort of drought each year, it just depends the severity.’’ Mcgiven said the influence of a cyclone was a double-edged sword – rain is needed but strong winds could flatten the maize crops.

‘‘Ideally we would want around 15-25 millilitres of rain over the course of a day.

‘‘But we don’t get to dictate the weather.’’

Many farmers had budgeted for the hot, dry weather, and conditions during spring and early summer had made for good grass rates, he said.

This meant farmers were able to stock up on surplus grass to use for silage and hay, he said.

Mcgiven said maize is doing well this summer. Summer crops such as turnips and kale have also been successful.

Lichfield farmer Gray Baldwin agreed. He planted 162 hectares of maize in spring last year to safeguard his dairy farm against dryness. The crops had been successful but were now feeling the effects of the heat, he said. ‘‘Maize is drying out very fast now, I’m anticipating starting to harvest it three weeks earlier than usual.’’

Noll said January 2018 was drier than January this year.

2018 was the hottest summer on record for the Waikato, but it remained to be seen how February’s heat would influence this, he said.