Photo: Oliver Smith
Northland's had some grey days and is feeling wintry - however grass is still growing. The east of the region and far north are looking good - they've had a lot of rain. Not so much has fallen in the west - that's ok though because its heavy soils can become sodden. Smaller numbers of cattle are coming though to the market but prices remain reasonable.
In the Pukekohe district most outdoor vegetable growers have remained off their fields because of continual wet days with 50mm of total rainfall. The exception has been the need to harvest leafy green crops in muddy conditions.
Waikato farmers were enjoying the rain until a few days ago - but now they'd like the heavy showers to stop. Just three weeks ago it was dusty. The Tokoroa farmer we called dried off the last of his cows on Saturday - it's been a record production year for the farm - with the good payout he could afford to buy in supplements to keep the cow milking well.
Our sheep farming contact in the Bay of Plenty was feeding out in his wet weather gear on Friday morning. In the last 11 days his farm has had 260mm of rain. On one day he had 70 in an hour and a quarter. All he needs now to lift grass growth is sun - soil temperatures are still quite good. People running kiwifruit picking gangs are having a very frustrating time - you can't pick in the wet ... and if pickers don't work they don't get paid. It's coming to the end of the season and there's concern some might disappear.
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Northern King Country is also damp - in the past fortnight well over 200 mils of rain has fallen. Rivers are running high. Early pregnancy scanning of ewes has started - just a few results are in but those farms are down about 10 percent on expectations. There was no rain of any consequence until the end of may and that come on top of a dry summer, pasture covers were lower than normal and there was a bit of facial eczema around - they can all impact on conception rates.
Taranaki has had a mix of rain, sun and then more rain. It's been warm but cold weather's in the forecast - there's a little snow on the mountain but typically it would have more. Taranaki farmers are missing their annual jaunt to the National agricultural Fieldays near Hamilton - It usually starts on the second Wednesday in June - this week - but has been postponed until November.
In Gisborne the huge vegie growing company Leaderbrand is close to planting crops in its new large scale green house. It's building 11 hectares of glasshouses - to minimise the impact of weather and create more consistent production. The first three hectare glasshouse is nearly complete, but shipping delays are stalling completing the rest. On farm it's very wet. One farmer says if he walks across the lawn to his persimmon tree he's sinking in almost up to his ankles.
Hawke's Bay grape growers have had enough clear weather to crack on with pruning. The grower we called has 250 sheep under his vines - he deals with a grazier who buys in sheep, distributes them around vineyards and orchards and will then sell them in late August or September. The vineyard owner says the sheep do a lot of the work needed to keep the vineyard looking tidy and fertilise the land at the same time. This year there was rain in February and March so there's plenty of feed for them. The Hawke's Bay wine sector is very excited about the recent success of two of its chardonnays on the world stage.
Everyone's busy scanning in Wairarapa and getting stock set for winter. A farmer says the results have been extremely good this year ... 190 percent for older ewes, up to 175 percent for two tooths and an expected 180 percent for mixed age ewes. Conditions underfoot are pretty damn good and the weather, although stormy this week, has been far better than over the hill. He says they're in a very good position for winter.
Manawatū has been having nasty winter days - it's been windy, cold and wet. However animals are in better nick than they often are at this time of year and there's more grass around too.
Some farmers have stopped looking at the rain gauge in the Nelson region, it's been so wet ... 10 out of 11 days this month there's been rain and it would be good to get some sun to dry things out. A dairy farmer says his cows are dried off and are pretty well set for feed because of the surplus going into autumn. Instead of easing back a bit there's extra work around mitigating damage to pasture with all the wet. All the talk is around the primary sector's plan for reducing emissions announced this week. Our contact says he's pleased with the outcome ... he says He Waka Eke Noa's document is honest and transparent and puts the brutal truth out there. The plan promises to cut methane emissions by 4 to 5.5 percent from 2017 levels by 2030 using a levy system. Another says farmers are still scratching their heads over what it all means.
Photo: Margaret Casey
It's been hard to see through all the fog and rain on a Marlborough hill country farm ... Norwesterlies have blown in showers all week bringing 80mm of rain. It's holding things up a bit but not too serious, a farmer told us. He was bringing in the ewes for scanning when we called. Results are looking good so far, a lift on last year after the good autumn rains. Feed covers are looking good. Vineyards are flat out pruning.
A farmer at Lake Brunner on the West Coast says the rain has been shocking all this week ...most of Thursday night was spent under a storm of thunder and lightening. It's a good job the cows are dried off. His herd were warm and cosy though under cover in their herd home, with breakfast and tea delivered. He says there are about eight such homes in the region and more are being built.
North Canterbury was buffeted by high winds on Thursday night and there was a lot of debris lying around when people woke. So far it's been fairly mild but that is about to change and the high country could be in for some snow over the weekend. Soil conditions are a bit wet under-foot on some farms.
A farmer in South Otago, says farmers around about should be pretty happy despite minimal rainfall. They're starting to get some feed about the place, grass is still growing and there is very good utilisation of fodder crops. Up to 20 percent of a leafy crop like kale can be wasted if it's trampled in wet weather. This year the stock have been able to clear them right to the ground. Our contact says he's expecting snow...hopefully it doesn't eventuate. He's a couple of weeks off pregnancy scanning his ewes. It's been a tough season with stock on crop much earlier than normal and the daily chore of moving breaks. There's been no let up from this since mid March and he's looking forward to heading away for a few days next week.
Photo: Margaret Casey
A Southland farmer tipped 5mm out of the rain gauge this morning. The sun was shining when we called but our contact said a fresh wind was blowing from the norwest and clouds were rolling around the mountains in the distance ... with an ominous feel that something was coming. He was out fencing and tidying up a few winter jobs. He's also been busy break feeding lambs and ewes. Lambs will go onto the winter crop next week. Lambs are dribbling into the works. The countryside is looking good for the time of year.
