RECENT RAIN

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24820, 9 March 1946, Page 3

RECENT RAIN

GOOD GENERAL - FALL UP TO 2JIN REPORTED The excellent rains of last week, which were general throughout the province, have made the autumn feed outlook considerably better than it was a week ago, but .more rain is wanted later to assure a good winter. Precipitation ranged from round 2 J in in southern districts near the hills, to a little over an inch about Amuri. It appears that most districts in Marlborough missed the rain altogether, or else got so little that it did not do any gredt deal of good. The rain was about ideal for many districts. It was not too cold, and fell steadily over several days, and was followed by a couple of days of cool and cloudy weather that allowed every drop that fell to do the most good. Pastures in some districts are already showing signs of recovery, particularly those under the hills where most rain fell, and within a week the benefit should be noticeable generally. The ground is warm, and the rain should produce one of those spectacular recoveries that Canterbury seems to be capable of. The writer can recall many times being most forcibly struck with this capacity, particularly in North Canterbury, where one week the eye is presented with a typical late summer scene of burnt and apparently lifeless grass, and a week after rain, can see nothing but a springlike green. However, up to the time of writing, the feed situation in most areas is still far from satisfactory. This has been well reflected at the ewe fairs, where farmers have as yet shown no desperate anxiety to stock up with the annual purchase of ewes. The reason without doubt is that last year’s ewes had to be held longer than usual, and the paddocks set aside for freshening the new lot before putting in the ram have not had the spell they should have had.

Farmers from almost all districts report that there has been a great improvement already in green feed crops. Turnip and rape crops were just beginning to discolour and look seedy when the rain came. They are now looking exceptionally well everywhere, and the freshening up may perhaps allow farmers to sell some of the feed saved against the winter.