Weather: Heavy rain hits Tararua District farmers amid calving, lambing

Heavy rain is causing issues for farmers in the Tararua District, just before lambing starts. Photo / Bevan Conley

By RNZ

Heavy rainfall over the weekend has come at a less-than-ideal time for farmers during calving and just before lambing in the Tararua District.

There were about 120mm of rain across the district over four days - with up to 20mm an hour during Sunday’s downpour peaks.

Damien Reynolds farms sheep and beef across 900ha of hill country 3km south of Pahīatua along the Makakahi River.

Reynolds said on Sunday morning flat areas were flooded and the river was rising very fast - but fortunately, cattle had been moved up into the hills with the ewes in time.

He said that though the river was likely coming off its peak, there was a lot of water about.

“Extremely wet and a lot of surface flooding, let alone the high river,” he said.

“So the high river has sort of dispersed onto our neighbour’s flats across the river.

“It’s the surface flooding and it’s the sogginess, and not being able to graze paddocks now and [we] have to look at different options for where the stock goes.

“All those stock are off the winter crops, which makes it difficult for a while until they can get back on them.

“Fortunately, the main flooding event was during daylight hours, so we were all able to react and the neighbours and the dairy farmers there on the flats are able to react as well.”

The district’s Federated Farmers provincial president Thomas Read said he hadn’t heard of impacted farmers just yet - though with plenty of warning, there was time to move stock to higher ground.

But he said the timing wasn’t great.

“Yes the excess rain has been troubling, for the farmers, as dairy farmers are calving and sheep and beef are heading into lambing,” he said.

MetService is forecasting some rainfall later this afternoon, which will ease in the coming days.

- RNZ