Farmers on east coasts, including Gisborne, advised to plan for drought conditions

Persistent northwesterly winds have dried out eastern coastal regions such as Tairāwhiti, and Beef + Lamb NZ is encouraging farmers to start planning for drought.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand is encouraging farmers along the east coasts of the North and South islands to start planning for drought.

It says recent northwesterly winds have left soil moisture levels depleted in regions such as Tairāwhiti.

Federated Farmers’ Gisborne-Wairoa province has already started moving into planning stages with the Ministry for Primary Industries around a potential drought declaration this summer.

Gisborne-Wairoa president Charlie Reynolds told the Gisborne Herald it wanted to “make sure that we will have procedures and people in place ready if we need it to be declared”.

In a news release on its website, Beef + Lamb (B+LNZ) general manager farming excellence Dan Brier said it had been a challenging spring.

“Farmers along the east coasts of both islands have been experiencing very dry conditions, while farmers in other parts of the country are dealing with ongoing wet weather.”

He recommended farmers along the east coasts start planning for drought and consider strategies such as early weaning, selling trading stock at lighter weights and buying in supplementary feed before demand put upward pressure on prices.

Good planning and early decision-making were critical when dealing with drought conditions.

He suggested farmers set trigger dates and, if it had not rained by that date, certain actions needed to be implemented.

“This could, for example, mean early weaning [of] five-year ewes and getting those ewes off the property and sold on a higher schedule in December, or selling a line of cows and calves – stock that would struggle in a very dry summer.”

Reynolds agreed with setting trigger dates.

“They will be key to both animal welfare and, more importantly, farmers’ mentality,” he told the Gisborne Herald. “I would ask farmers who do decide to pull the destock lever that, if you notice your neighbour hasn’t started destocking, buying in extra feed or doing any prep work, pop over and check on them, or give Vicki Crosswell at Rural Support a call on 0800787254 and pass on your thoughts.”

Reynolds said it was important for farmers to monitor water storage, such as dams.

“Don’t just drive past and think there’s water in it. Stop and put a stick in and see how much water there is before you feel mud.”

Brier said it was important that farmers focused on protecting the reproductive performance of their capital stock to help minimise the impact of a drought.

“This is where tools such as Body Condition Scoring are so valuable, as you are partitioning limited feed resources into the stock that need it the most.”

Brier said B+LNZ had resources on its Knowledge Hub to help support decision-making.

“This includes a drought toolkit and strategies used by farmers in previous droughts.

“B+LNZ’s AI tool Bella can also help put plans together to help farmers get through this season: www.AskBella.co.nz.”