Editorial: Keeping the Govt honest
OPINION: Federated Farmers' latest farmer confidence survey results won’t surprise too many people.
Some dairy farmers in Southland are already moving to once a day (OAD) milking because they don’t have sufficient good pasture on which to graze their stock.
Bernadette Hunt, Southland Federated Farmers, told Dairy News that in parts of the province, pastures have been very badly damaged by recent floods. She says the pastures are just so wet it’s impossible to graze animals on the land and there is insufficient grass for stock.
“It is obviously very early in the season to be thinking of OAD milking. A lot of dairy farmers had to take their stock off pasture because the paddocks were so waterlogged and the pasture damaged,” she says.
Hunt says while they were expecting rain, a huge amount fell in a twelve hour period and that caught people in some areas by surprise. She says flooding was localised, with small creeks and culverts overflowing, cutting off stock and making roads impassable.
On some farms, effluent ponds filled up rapidly, but she says the flooding went down quickly, although there is still pasture damage.
Feed supplies in the region are said to be good, due in part to a mild winter. Ironically, Hunt says it feels like they are getting their winter weather in spring. But she says people do have surplus baleage, which will be available for farmers with damaged pastures. She says it’s now a matter of how long it takes for the sodden pastures to dry out.
“This is delaying contractors getting on to the land. Normally the first crops start going in during October with others following in November.
“We have effectively lost a fortnight. There is a shortage of contractors due to Covid and the immigration challenges, and the rain has compressed the planting season, which is going to make it tough on contracting staff,” she says.
Hunt says with farmer morale already pretty low, this is just another blow that they really don’t want and adds to the challenges they face.
The 2025 South Island Agricultural Field Days (SIAFD) chairman, Rangiora farmer Andrew Stewart, is predicting a successful event on the back of good news coming out of the farming sector and with it a greater level of optimism among farmers.
WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds, following a sentencing for a death at one of South Canterbury’s biggest agribusinesses.
Now is not the time to stop incorporating plantain into dairy pasture systems to reduce nitrogen (N) loss, says Agricom Australasia brand manager Mark Brown.
Building on the success of last year's events, the opportunity to attend People Expos is back for 2025, offering farmers the chance to be inspired and gain more tips and insights for their toolkits to support their people on farm.
Ballance Agri-Nutrients fertiliser SustaiN – which contains a urease inhibitor that reduces the amount of ammonia released to the air – has now been registered by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). It is the first fertiliser in New Zealand to achieve this status.
Precision application of nitrogen can improve yields, but the costs of testing currently outweigh improved returns, according to new research from Plant and Food Research, MPI and Ravensdown.
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