Farmers pain, no rain
Nervous Waikato farmers are hoping rain forecast for next week will spell a reprieve in what’s been a hot, dry summer and help get parched paddocks greening up again.
The region’s summer had been dry and hot, and there had been little rain since December.
Waikato Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Reymer said while the hot summer was not unexpected, and this year’s dry conditions weren’t recordbreaking, those nearing the end of their feed stock could be getting nervous.
‘‘Farmers in general are mostly prepared.’’
‘‘How long will it last is the concern. It’s scary when you don’t know when the end is.’’
Reymer said farmers were typically prepared for six to eight weeks of limited or no rain.
Farmers needed to know if it would be another week or another six without rain, to decide how they would respond, he said.
‘‘The most frustrating thing is the forecast. It looks like rain and it changes.’’
Fortunately last year’s spring weather was nice and wet, which created enough surplus to survive most summers, Reymer said.
Most of Waikato was experiencing very dry to extremely dry conditions, Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said.
This was the third dry summer in a row, and Noll said this was likely to have a compounding effect on the agricultural industry.
‘‘There has been more high pressure the last couple of summers.’’
Noll said the ‘‘happy weather’’ was good for holidaymakers, but extended periods of hot and dry weather was tough on farmers.
The weather aligned with predications that suggested an 80 per cent chance of above normal temperatures, he said.
The South Island was due to get heavy rain and flooding this week, Noll said, and the moisture was likely come north this weekend and into next week.
He said it was too soon to know how much.
However, there were concerns that the dry weather would return in mid to late February.
‘‘It’s a little bit of hope,’’ he said. But he warned farmers not to rely on the rain, and to be prepared for it not to come.
The hot weather had sparked a high alert for scrub, forest and grass fires in Waikato and Coromandel.
Firefighters were still at the scene of a large vegetation fire in northern Waikato, and were continuing to dampen down the blaze.
Crews spent most of Monday dampening down the fire, near Meremere, which continued to burn since starting at 7pm on Saturday.
Fire and Emergency district manager Daryl Trim earlier said people needed to stay informed about fire restrictions, and double-check that embers were fully extinguished.
Trim said last week alone, local brigades attended two preventable fire that left crews fully stretched.
‘‘If you are in an area where there is a prohibited fire season – like Coromandel and Waikato District – there is a total fire ban. No fires are permitted, including rubbish fires.’’