El Niño Spring Outlook: What to Expect in Five NZ Regions
El Niño has officially been with us for several weeks now, and late winter and early September have given us a taste of what is to come.
He says there’s a lot of speculation about what this weather system may throw at farmers and they need to plan and be ready for any eventuality.
One thing Tarbotton says B+LNZ is encouraging farmers to do is to plant a crop to give them a feed buffer if things turn for the worse. He also suggests following the advice of a fertiliser company and getting fert – nitrogen and sulphur – on early and making wise use of it to boost pasture growth.
“Put fertiliser on now and don’t wait until pastures dry out. Nitrogen put on now has a more gradual response over a longer period, which is just perfect underfoot of lactating ewes,” he says.
He also recommends farmers check the udders of ewes at weaning and cull any animals with defects immediately. He says it’s important to get poor performing animals off the farm early and give the young stock priority for the quality feed.
Tarbotton says selling some of the poorer lambs and getting others to finish them makes perfect sense. It means that the capital stock they want to hold are in good condition for tupping. Providing that extra quality feed is important, he says, and farmers that have flat land should make more silage and hay to build up that buffer of surplus feed.
“This is an easy management lever to pull,” he says.
Finally, Tarbotton says farmers should have a plan and do stock takes of their animals and feed throughout the season and make decisions based on the latest weather information.
