Canterbury farmers fear severe drought

Canterbury dry-land farmers, such as sheep and beef farmers, are selling off excess stock. Photo / Christine Cornege

Chance of rain in region slim as conditions echo brutal dry spells of last century.

Canterbury is on the verge of a 20th century-style drought with the southern region the driest it has been in a decade, forcing farmers to sell surplus stock and leading to restrictions on irrigation as the area waits for rain.

Soil moisture in eastern and southern Canterbury is between severely and extremely drier than normal, while the outlook for rain is light, Niwa data shows.

The region, which suffered crippling droughts through the 1970s to 1990s, is the driest it has been for a decade, said Ivon Hurst, Federated Farmers' South Canterbury president.

"We are in what you would call a drought - not an emergency, official drought where the Government has to come in and give assistance, but there is no moisture in the ground. We have a consistently dry weather pattern," Hurst said.

"If we do get rain at this stage then we're saved and we'll have a good season, but I very much doubt that - the weather pattern is too stable. It's got the same feel as the big droughts we had in the last century."

The Government declares droughts on the advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries, after it has been approached by affected farmers. A spokesman for Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said as far as he was aware the ministry hadn't been approached by farmers in dry regions of Canterbury, while the ministry said it monitored the dry conditions.

Niwa, the crown's climate research institute, advises the ministry on weather conditions.

"Under these current conditions, if widespread meaningful rainfall doesn't occur then drought may be imminent where there is severe or extremely drier than normal soils for this time of the year," Niwa forecaster Chris Brandolino said.

"There is going to be some minor rain and when you're as dry as we are in southern Canterbury and eastern Canterbury it's helpful, but if you're running a huge deficit it helps but you need a lot more to make a substantial dent."

Canterbury dry-land farmers, such as sheep and beef farmers, are selling off excess stock while irrigators are facing restrictions on water under the agreement between farmers and Environment Canterbury. South Canterbury lowland rivers were shut off from irrigation, Hurst said, with only an environmental flow to keep fish alive.

Brandolino said parts of the North Island, such as Wairarapa and areas of Waikato, were also drier than normal.