Tough choices face farmers in the north

McBeth said while the rain last week was very welcome “there is the risk that it won’t be enough to recharge the soil moisture conditions, so we are facing quite severe soil moisture deficits throughout most of the North Island and parts of the South Island”.

“So it is going to take quite a bit of rain to actually get the fuel back in the tank in terms of soil moisture to allow good strong pasture growth to reoccur,” McBeth says.

“Northland is particularly bad but all the North Island is struggling – but this is farming to some degree, we are not into drought conditions at this stage. 

“The real message is every farm is different – the amount of rainfall that has happened for instance around Hamilton is significantly different depending on where you are.

“So it’s a case of each farmer assessing their pasture cover, their cow condition and making sure the cows aren’t losing condition rapidly, their supplement they have on hand or their ability to source supplements and to make good, well planned decisions accordingly.”

Several farmers in Northland and Waikato spoken to by Dairy News just before last week’s rain said if rain did not come within the next week, it would be decision time including looking at culling the herd, buying in supplements or moving to once-a-day milking. Some had already done so.

McBeth says last week’s rain varied considerably in different areas, and more was needed.  “Even those areas that had good rainfall may need more to turn what is a fairly dry situation into a situation they can continue farming comfortably with the cows and milk that have”.

After a period of dry, then rainfall, it takes a while for the plants to recover and grow vigorously again. “It takes a bit of time and follow-up rainfall… perhaps a bit of nitrogen application and feeding supplements.

“The alternative action farmers should still be considering is to reduce their stocking rate. If they haven’t got rid of their empty cows or the cows they were planning to cull at the end of the season, they should still consider doing that now to lighten the stocking rate and enable pasture to recover.”

McBeth says with a bit of moisture and warm temperatures, facial eczema is something to be on the lookout for. Farmers who haven’t started already should be using preventative zinc treatments for facial eczema.

“And the perennial message is to keep an eye on your young stock as well to make sure they are being cared for; often they are not under the same watchful gaze as milking cows are and it’s easy to neglect them.”