Blustery cold weather affected most North Island regions from earlier this week.
Northland was only 11 degrees on Friday morning. They haven't had a lot of rain and grass isn't really growing hard out yet. That's affected the cattle sales .Farmers are stil paying top dollars for good cattle, but the poorer ones are hard to move. And that trend's expected to continue over the next few weeks when there are the spring cattle fairs.
Some hail .. along with the wind and rain .. battered parts of South Auckland. Hundreds of people gathered at a local hall to hear and challenge the Ministry for the Environment's presentation on future use of fertiliser and irrigation on farms. Many vegetable growers see the proposals as restrictive to the point that their businesses may no longer be viable. Our contact commented that perhaps taking some land out of production may be best. He says the Government could buy it back and return it to native bush. Environmental problems solved !
It's been one of the wettest Septembers for a while in Waikato. .. but water tables are still low after a dry winter. On dairy farms cows are cycling really well which is a promising start to mating. Effluent ponds will be at the end of their storage capacity so farmers are being reminded to make sure that all staff in charge of spray irrigating the effluent, keep good records.
Photo: Susan Murray RNZ
Lamb docking was humming along until the rain and wind hit mid week in Bay of Plenty. The rain's useful but no one wants the cold. The proposed environment rules are top of mind although our sheep and beef farmer says hill country operators in particular, are well up with the play because the regional council's been supporting them to fence off waterways since the early 1990's.
It's been disgusting in King Country. There's no grass growth yet. Some sheep farmers are well into docking .. and calving on beef farmers is progressing well.
Taranaki has come through winter well and the farmer we spoke to said it's been probably seven seasons in a row that have been pretty kind on his farm.
Friday morning was stunning in Gisborne. There's only been half the rain farmers want and outlying townships are starting to worry about running out of tank water. Crops like sweet corn and tomatoes are going in and should respond to the 18 degree temperatures. The Gisborne wharf is busy with logs again .. the huge price drop had slowed forestry this year, but prices have rebounded a little so things are moving again.
Hawkes Bay has a very spread out lambing .. our consultant contact had one client weaning lambs this week while another was just starting lambing. As with other districts, hundreds turned out for the public meetings about the freshwater proposals.
Wairarapa has been really blasted with damaging winds which have come a sniff earlier and a sniff harder than usual. Well over three hundred people attended a freshwater meeting on Thursday. Our farmer contact says disappointingly, despite the fact many meetings have now been held, officials still couldn't answer a lot of the farmers' questions. He said they feel the submission process is a sham.
The weather was so lovely in Manawatu last weekend that silage was made. It was also a good chance to get tractor work done. However, by mid week a dusting of snow hit Apiti and Rangowahia. The snow would've been okay for newborn lambs, but it's their survival now it's really cold and windy that's the worry.
Asparagus is being harvested everyday in Horowhenua but the cool temperatures are holding volumes back so supermarkets can't start marketing campaigns
Snow has coated some of the hills in the Nelson region and Kiwifruit growers have been hard at work protecting their vines from frost because it's been a lot colder than usual. They're in the thick of shoot rubbing. There's been some replanting of hops with better varieties. Apple trees are showing heavy flowering and most of the orchards are on top of their jobs. Growers are a bit concerned about the poor prices for Braeburn apples and wondering if they should keep them or pull them out but there's general optimism among orchardists.
Wind machines have been running in Marlborough vineyards after a light frost on Thursday morning. Once the Sauvignon Blanc kicks in, the helicopters will be out to protect over a wider area. There's been a bit of wind and some beautiful spring days. They're just getting ready to put the early season sprays on.
Photo: RNZ / Susan Murray
Our contact at the northern end of the west coast says there's been no let up in the rain...he'd had 88 millimetres this week and it's even wetter further south. Southerlies have brought snow to the hills and growth is slow with 9 degree soil temperatures. They need 10 for growth to start. Some farmers are struggling to find a paddock to put their cows in because of waterlogging. Silage and palm kernel are being fed out. Calving is ninety percent through. Farmers are experiencing sensory overload getting their head around mounting regulations and environmental proposals.
It's been a very varied weather week, typical of spring, in mid Canterbury, even with a late snow fall on Wednesday night. Grass growth is slow for the time of year due to cooler temperatures. Many people are still feeding out and hoping growth kicks in shortly. Our contact at Hororata has started preparing paddocks for next year's winter feed crops so many long hours are being spent on tractors.
The weather has continued to be good for lambing in Otago. A Balclutha farmer says 16 mills of rain this week was welcome as it's been a bit dry. They're three quarters of the way through.
Feed is tight in Southland and our contact says grass growth is at 50 to 70 percent of the average for this time of year. Thank goodness for the good feed situation earlier on. Calving is 85 percent through and the colder weather is slowing the milk flow. The weather's been good for lambing though and they're just starting to tail around the district. With the water proposals on the table, farmers are wondering how they are going to stay in business but our contact says it's good to see Fonterra marking a more positive way to the future.
