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Wednesday, 27 September 2023 10:55

Moving into drought mode

Written by  Peter Burke
Justine Kidd Justine Kidd

Beef + Lamb NZ is busy running a series of events and webinars aimed at ensuring farm profitability in the light of the impending drought.

Justine Kidd, B+LNZ's general manager of extension, told Rural News that she's talked with the other primary sector organisations to ensure consistent messaging and avoid duplication of work.

Kidd says they are analysing rural community needs and the challenges they could face in the next six to twelve months to get a handle on what support they need.

She adds that poor fencing allowing stock to wander onto roads and other properties is a problem that could take some time to fix. She says with slips and sediment on farm, feed supplies are low and the cost of getting stock in and out is higher because of the state of the roads.

B+LNZ is running webinars every Monday evening with guest presenters talking about ways to best deal with a drought and with other problems on farm.

Kidd says she's especially concerned about the wellbeing of people given what they have gone through and what they are potentially facing.

"It is very hard to tell this story," she told Rural News. "But it is important to keep it in front of people because of its complexity, and the people who are having to deal with what's going on are very isolated."

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