The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Slow start to North Canterbury dairy season

By David Hill
Otago Daily Times·
30 Jul, 2019 09:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Federated Farmers North Canterbury president Cameron Henderson is enjoying the mild winter, but is wary of what may lie ahead. Photo / Supplied

Federated Farmers North Canterbury president Cameron Henderson is enjoying the mild winter, but is wary of what may lie ahead. Photo / Supplied

The mild winter means milk supplies will be flowing later this season.

Federated Farmers North Canterbury president Cameron Henderson, an Oxford dairy farmer, said most farmers in the region were reporting a slow start to calving.

''Early in the season we don't really supply a lot, but we normally like to be supplying milk by the 1st of August, but that certainly won't be happening this year.

''Quite a few farmers are saying it's delayed, so whether it's the weather or cows are less stressed, but it's probably a good thing.''

Henderson said he was supplying milk by July 27 last year, but there was no reason to be concerned at this stage. There was plenty of feed around, conditions were mild and the cows were happy.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The recent rain had been a welcome boost to dry paddocks and the region's aquifers, he said.

''We knew it was going to balance out at some stage. It was getting very dry and warm as well. Usually, we would be getting some snow and a southerly by now.

''The groundwater is a bit of a concern, so the rain can bugger off now; we need some sun.''

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Henderson said he was cautiously optimistic about the season ahead, as a late winter could be just around the corner, hitting farmers with snow and ice during peak calving.

While the ''on-farm stuff'' was going well, it was the off-farm implications around the environment and climate change that were causing farmers the biggest headaches.

Environment Canterbury has recently notified Plan Change 7 to the Land and Water Regional Plan and Plan Change 2 to the Waimakariri River Regional Plan, following the adoption of the Waimakariri Zone Committee's zone implementation plan addendum in December.

Submissions also recently closed on the Government's Climate Change Amendment (Zero Carbon) Bill.

Discover more

New Zealand

Farmers urged to prepare for snow

28 Jul 08:24 PM

Reduction of Johne's disease possible

28 Jul 10:15 PM
Business

Professor says plant milk and lab meat are future of NZ farming

28 Jul 11:00 PM

Rook sightings cause ORC to keep 'open mind' about population

29 Jul 04:00 AM

''As long as the science backs it up, is what we've always said. If the science says we've got to do it, we've got to do it,'' Henderson said.

''But if the target becomes a popularity contest and it doesn't make a lot of difference, we could be incurring a lot of costs for no real benefit.

''Most farmers say, 'give us the options and tell us the goals and we can get on and do it'. We are the industry which is going to be hardest hit, so we have a vested interest to fix it.''

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

University's kiwifruit gripper built to help combat labour shortage

10 Jun 02:45 AM
The Country

Rowena Duncum's Fieldays preview on The Country

10 Jun 01:38 AM
The Country

Anyone for 3D meat? Japan's Expo showcases food of the future

10 Jun 01:32 AM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

University's kiwifruit gripper built to help combat labour shortage

University's kiwifruit gripper built to help combat labour shortage

10 Jun 02:45 AM

The University of Waikato entered two prototypes into the Fieldays Innovation Awards.

Rowena Duncum's Fieldays preview on The Country

Rowena Duncum's Fieldays preview on The Country

10 Jun 01:38 AM
Anyone for 3D meat? Japan's Expo showcases food of the future

Anyone for 3D meat? Japan's Expo showcases food of the future

10 Jun 01:32 AM
'Great news': NZ red meat exports hit $1.21b in April

'Great news': NZ red meat exports hit $1.21b in April

10 Jun 12:23 AM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP