Displaying items by tag: Drought

Fonterra says milk collection in the South Island in March was 7% below last season.

 Better late than never will likely be some South Island farmers’ response to DairyNZ’s belated drought advice.

Despite dying winter feed crops and increasingly crisp pasture, losses due to the central South Island drought could still be ring-fenced to this season, says a dairy farmer representative in the hard hit region.

Irrigating farmers are being urged to optimise every drop of water.

An easterly airflow promised brief respite from the central South Island’s dry late last week but a drought-breaking weather system is desperately needed, farmers’ leaders and industry representatives say.

MPI’s David Wansbrough says a lot of people look for the headline ‘drought declaration’, but they should understand what this means in practical terms. 

Farmers must act now if they are to cope with the effects of a predicted drought, Lincoln University experts say.

Farmers need to act now if they are to cope with the effects of a predicted drought in Canterbury, Lincoln University experts say.

Current dry weather in Canterbury is expected to have little impact on Synlait Milk's milk supply because almost all Synlait suppliers have reliable irrigation water access.

Farmers in South Canterbury and North Otago will feel the financial crunch of the drought-like conditions shortly, with Westpac gearing up to assist its hardest hit customers in the regions.