Mike Cranstone says it has to get "wet and unpleasant" at some stage. Photo / Supplied
Mike Cranstone says it has to get "wet and unpleasant" at some stage. Photo / Supplied
Wind and rain and cold temperatures hit Whanganui this week but the conditions haven't put a dent in local farmers' plans.
Federated Farmers Whanganui president Mike Cranstone said it was the first taste of what was expected for the coming months.
"I think most farmers have enjoyed a fantastic autumn,"Cranstone said.
"It's been an amazing June in terms of grass growth, so most places are set up pretty well to handle short, sharp cold snaps like the one we've just had.
"The guys in the hill country have appreciated a warm month to get feed covers back on track."
"It needs to get wet and unpleasant at some stage, otherwise summer becomes a very long, dry season."
Motukawa Land Co. Farms general manager Simon Plimmer said it was better to have snow at this time of year than in spring - when lambing was taking place.
"We've had late snow storms come through in September in early October in the last couple of seasons," Plimmer said.
"That hits us harder."
Plimmer said although frosts predicted for the next few days would impact soil temperatures, it had been "unseasonably warm" on his central North Island farms during the past few months.
Mosley said if the soil temperature fell below 10C there was usually a dramatic decrease in grass growth.
"Instead of taking 10 to 14 days to grow back we might be waiting 20 to 30 days for the paddocks to come back.
"Our soil temperatures are sitting above that but they are still relatively low at the moment, so we are not seeing any rapid grass growth after grazing."
