Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
There's been a bit of badly needed rain in King Country and it has warmed up again after a very cold week last week. Farmers are getting into winter mode in Canterbury with stock starting on winter feed crops. Listen to On the Farm for more on conditions on farms and orchards around the country.
It has cooled off substantially in Northland in the last few days. The kikuyu grass is still growing but it's not far off hanging up its boots for the season. Autumn calving has gone well. Our contact has travelled the region this week and says because of the rain, it's looking to be not badly off feed-wise going into winter.
There've been a few showers this week around Pukekohe and together with mild temperatures that's keeping the crops growing. Sarah Dobson has been declared the 2022 Pukekohe Young Grower of the Year and will compete in Nelson in September for the national title.
Kikuyu grass in Northland Photo: Carol Stiles
There's been enough rain in Waikato and drought-hit farms are recovering after 60 to 70 millimetres of rain across the region last week. It was enough to set the pasture off but even so some dairy farmers won't have the required amount of feed on farm before they head off to new properties on the first of June. Contracts stipulate how much grass or supplementary feed needs to be available for the new farmer. Supplementary feed reserves are pretty much depleted now and premium prices are being paid especially for wrapped bales. There are positives though - the payout's good, cows are in good condition and covers are lifting quickly.
There's been a bit of badly needed rain in King Country and it has warmed up again after a very cold week last week. People are getting ready for the bull sales around Taumarunui. Most people are trying to get rid of stock especially dry cows and it's hard work. Lambs are starting to move though. Store lambs are making good money, even little fellas.
A Hereford bull Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Taranaki was having another beautiful day on Friday after a light frost - the first of the season. The farmer had just finished autumn calving and with a good amount of grass things are in a pretty tidy state. In a month it'll be mating time.
Bay of Plenty has had its first light frosts before at the start of beautiful sunny days. The region could do with a little bit of rain and is behind the eight ball going into winter. Dairy farmers have just about dried off their cows. Our contact dried off three weeks earlier than he might do in a good season because it's been drier than normal. Fonterra's announcement this week of a record opening forecast farmgate milk price for the new season is promising, our contact says, but he pointed out, without wanting to sound too negative, high payouts are being gobbled up by ever increasing input costs.
Heading around the East Cape and it's still very wet around Wairoa - the scene of flooding and massive slips at the end of March. A farmer says after four or five fine days there was more rain at the end of the week - 50 to 60 millimetres which they didn't need. It's good to see a lot of farm fences have been repaired and slipped pasture starting to green up after a helicopter was flat out dropping grass seed in early April. With good feed levels, most stock in the area are doing very well.
There've been a couple of frosts in Hawke's Bay and a bit of drizzle but it's green and grass is still growing. Cattle are coming along well and there's plenty of feed.
In Manawatū much needed rain late last week and early this week is making people feel pretty bullish going into winter. There's been good grass growth and farms are sitting pretty with high covers. Getting space for prime animals killed at the works is still a bit stressful but it's been like that for a couple of years now so farmers have got used to it. An ag consultant says ewe condition is the best farmers have seen in years. They've put on a lot of weight and are looking really good. He says there's excitement about the potential results from pregnancy scanning coming up in June and July.
A bit of rain in Wairarapa has not caused problems for an olive growing couple who've picked some of their fruit this week and were at the olive press on Friday. They're harvesting earlier than usual because the weather's been so good and most varieties they grow have been bigger than normal. The fair weather of late means ripening has been constant ... no stopping and starting due to cold although there have been some chilly starts to the days.
Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
Across Cook Strait and the Tasman region hasn't had much rain. Hop growers are now into winter mode doing maintenance work tensioning cables and wires and cleaning up sheds post harvest. Those with nursery plants for next season are grading them and putting them in cool store ready for planting out in spring and it's a good time for a bit of R and R.
Marlborough had a good frost on Friday morning. There have been a few this week so winter's finally arrived. With more RSE workers able to come into New Zealand grape growers should be in a better position than last year for vine pruning. The wine is pretty well all made. Some are into the final filtration stage. This season's Sauvignon Blanc is slowly entering the local and export markets.
Photo: RNZ/Sally Round
A West Coast farmer wasn't too happy to see 84 mm of rain arrive this week. He dried his cows off quickly and called it quits. Others are still milking on he said. He bought two units of hay and straw and has it in the shed. He bought more than normal and is pleased as it's now become scarce and very expensive.
'Well, if this is winter we'll take it!' our contact told us from Canterbury. Mild temperatures, good soil moisture and nice days are making this time of year enjoyable. Farmers are getting into winter mode with stock starting on winter feed crops. Once stock work is complete winter maintenance kicks on with fencing, machinery maintenance and gorse spraying happening this week. North Canterbury had a sunny Friday morning with no frost, but the snow was glistening on the mountains.
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Near the Central Otago village of Oturehua the temperature gauge cracked down to -10 degrees Celsius coming into Friday morning. It was -5 degrees by breakfast. Farmers are getting stock onto crops, especially hoggets and cattle. It pays to get them used to eating the swedes, turnips, kale and fodder beet so when the snow arrives they're keen to push through it to the crop. There wasn't a cloud in the sky on Friday morning so our farmer contact thought NASA should have a good chance of getting its huge balloon launched at Wanaka during Friday sometime.
Near Cromwell the temperature only reached -4 on Friday! Pruning's underway on vineyards. One Mount Difficulty worker, biked to work in his shorts on Friday morning and by the time he had arrived icicles were stuck to the hairs on his legs. There was a good fog to go with the chilly temperature and grape vine pruners are looking like Telly Tubbies with their layers of clothing. All hoped the sun would push through to warm things up. The Pinot is going into the oak barrels for slow maturation, the whites are cleaned up and settling. It was close to a record yield for the region, the fruit was clean and super tasty so there's a lot of excitement about this vintage.
Southland has been very wet. The rain's needed for the aquifers but it makes a mess very quickly at this time of year. There was the first really good frost here too on Friday morning. Dairy farmers will be drying off over the weekend and coming week if they haven't already. Cows are onto winter crops. Sheep farms are coming to the end of mating and the rams are coming out. Mobs of ewes are going onto set-stocking regimes for winter.
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