Tuesday, 28 July 2020 08:55

Double whammy for farmers

Written by  Sudesh Kissun
AgFirst Northland consultant Kim Robinson. AgFirst Northland consultant Kim Robinson.

Two weeks ago, many farmers in Northland were in drought recovery mode, now they are repairing fences and culverts washed away by flooding.

Damage to infrastructure and water-logged pasture are the biggest issues facing many Northland farmers following the devastating flood earlier this month, says AgFirst Northland consultant Kim Robinson.

After months of near-crippling drought, more than 200mm of rain fell over 10 hours in parts of the region.

Robinson says while farmers are “bloody resilient”, they are facing a double whammy. She told Rural News that the drought’s impact on a dairy farm last season was estimated around $1000/ha. For an average 150ha farm, this equates to a loss of $150,000.

“Before we got the flooding, farmers were facing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of losses from the drought, that’s a huge amount of money for a little farm,” she says.

The recent floods washed away culverts and fencing around farms throughout the region. Pasture damage is also severe.

Robinson says because of the drought, many farms were forced to re-grass paddocks scorched by the drought.

“Lots of these new pastures were very short because they were regrassed much later as we waited for rain.

“Young pastures, under two inches, don’t cope very well with water inundation, so there’s a lot of pasture loss.”

Last week, Robinson visited her clients in Hikurangi where some farms still had floodwater. Despite heavy flooding, there has been no report of stock losses.

Robinson says one of her clients in Hikurangi moved calves to safety during the night through flooded paddocks.

Federated Farmers Northland meat and wool chair Roger Ludbrook, who farms in the Bay of Islands, told Rural News little pasture is available and it’s becoming difficult to graze cattle on heavier soils.

He says the situation has been exacerbated with no supplementary feed on most farms.

Ludbrook has started repairing exclusion fences on his 400ha sheep and beef property but rain is continuing to fall in the region.

“We’ve been repairing fencing for three days but it’s a lot harder when rain continues to fall.”

More like this

Farmers urged to prepare as heavy rain looms

With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.

Featured

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

DairyNZ plantain trials cut nitrate leaching by 26%

DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.

All eyes on NZ milk supply

All eyes are on milk production in New Zealand and its impact on global dairy prices in the coming months.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

A step too far

OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…

Save us from SAFE

OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter