Horror rainfalls!
It will take between six to eight months for commercial growers in the Horowhenua region to fully recover from the disastrous heavy rains that hit the region in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
It's been the wettest July in the Horowhenua for more than 75 years and it's causing havoc for local growers.
Terry Olsen, president of the Tararua Growers Association, which represents commercial vegetable growers on the western side of the Tararua Ranges from Otaki to Rangitikei, says there has been month upon month of challenging weather. He says conditions have been especially bad south of Levin, where rain, wind and hail have all taken their toll on crops. Olsen says this has made it very hard to get product into the marketplace in a reasonably marketable condition.
"It's been hard on people, soil, machinery and furthermore it's very disheartening and makes for interesting challenges going forward," he told Hort News.
"It's especially hard for those who are totally reliant on vegetable growing for their income."
Olsen says the first challenge was to get crop planted and then to get it established - only to find the crop inundated with rain at the wrong time. Olsen, who is a potato grower but also has a dairy farm as part of his operation, says if a crop gets ruined by the rain it's not a simple matter of replanting it straight away.
"In the case of spuds, it's about sourcing seed if you can and that's all pretty expensive. Then it's having to make decisions to either carry on or with what you are left with or go for a complete replant. These are pretty sizeable decisions."
Olsen says, while having the dairy farm provides a diversification option, that operation has also been difficult because of the rain, which has occurred around calving time. He says even if there is a dry spell, more problems could be in store between September and October have always been challenging months for growers.
According to Olsen, Covid has compounded the problem. He says they have been operating short staffed for a while now which has been an even bigger problem for vegetable growers.
"It's a reminder how challenging nature can be," he told Hort News. "The big thing is to make sure that infrastructure is maintained on farm.
"However, new regulations don't make it any easier and the challenge is trying to interpret what these will mean on the farm."
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
All eyes are on milk production in New Zealand and its impact on global dairy prices in the coming months.
Claims that some Southland farmers were invoiced up to $4000 for winter grazing compliance checks despite not breaching rules are being rejected by Environment Southland.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.