IN TARANAKI.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 55, 7 March 1939, Page 10

IN TARANAKI.

FARM WELLS RUN DRY.

PRODUCTION FALLS OFF.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

NEW PLYMOUTH, this day

As the present dry spell continues in Taranaki further serious drops in production are brinir reported by dairy factories throughout the province, and unless rain falls within a week, in the coastal districts particularly, the effect on farmers will be severe.

The Opunake district appears to be suffering more severely than anv other at present. Wells on "many farms havoj gone dry and farmers are "busy digging deeper for water or seeking fresh springs. Some tanks in Opunake have run dry and many others have onlv enough water for another few days. Townspeople for several days have been making daily visits to the dairy factory to take away canfuls of water, and so serious is the shortage that many people have been obliged to take their laundry into New Plymouth to be washed at friends' places. In Okato * township there is a big demand for water from the factory, as nearly all the tanks in the town have gone dry. The position is aggravated by the fact that there has been little wind with the dry weather, and as a result windmills have been useless.

The secretary of several dairy companies, both inland and on the coast, pointed out this morning that the strong winds experienced before the dry spell set in had taken the goodness "out of the soil, making the effect of the drought all the more serious. Cows, he said, were falling off in production far more quickly than last year and at all factories there was a big drop in production. One cheese factory was at present experiencing a drop of 20 per cent on the returns for the same period last year.