Drizzle spreads hope on farms

Press, 17 April 1978, Page 1

Drizzle spreads hope on farms

Canterbury’s drought may well have done its worst. Farmers are pleased with the further rain on Friday and during the week-end, but there is the ever-present worry at this time of year that the weather will turn cold, and restrict the vital growth that has been encouraged. Already there has been a surprisingly good recovery from the drought. A farmer near Cave, in inland South Canterbury, said last evening that he had had about 11mm of rain during the week-end. This might not sound much, he said, but it had been a drizzle over two days and this was one of the best rains. Farmers in other parts of Canterbury echoed his sentiments. “There has been a fine drizzle all day. It is just lovely so long as it does not turn cold,” said a farmer at Loburn, where about 18mm had fallen since the end of last week. A farmer in central Mid-Canterbury described the weather as “ideal”. He said it had been “drizzling

away” all afternoon but it was not too cold. The fall had been about 15mm. However, a Darfield farmer, who reported a fall of about 25mm, was pessimistic about the time left for growth. Generally, however, things have improved a lot in most areas in the last three or four weeks. The Cave farmer said that only three weeks ago the outlook had been bleak. The whole area had been as brown as the Sahara. Now it was all “nice and green looking.” There was certainly not a great bulk of feed, but he was grateful for the dramatic turn in conditions. He would still have to use a lot of barley this winter, but he had been able to reduce the level of supplementary feeding. The Mid-Canterbury man said that there had been a “terrific” change in the last four weeks. Where paddocks had been spelled from stock there was now a nice picking — ideal for the spring. Everywhere greenfeed crops and sowings of new grass have benefited from the rain, and farmers hope that the process will continue.

Pastures have responded well to applications of nitrogenous fertiliser. “There is no doubt that where we were able to get sulphate of ammonia on, the growth has been fantastic,” said the Darfield farmer. Lucerne has responded well in some areas, but so have the aphids. They are reported to be threatening stands again after a season during which they have been at a low ebb. The heaviest falls of rain at the week-end were in inland areas. In the 48 hours to 9 a.m. yesterday Hanmer Springs had 73mm; Otira, 65mm; Arthur’s Pass, 63mm; and Craigieburn, 39mm. Kaikoura had 9mm, Port Robinson in the Cheviot district, 18mm; Culverden, 6mm; Christchurch Airport, 18mm; the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch, 20.5 mm; Lyttelton, 14mm; Hororata, 'l6mm; Timaru Harbour, 7mm; and Timaru Airport, 12mm. According to the Weather Office at Christchurch Airport, it is not finished yet. Rain is expected to fall all over New Zealand today and may be heavy at times.

It predicts fresh northeasterly winds in Canterbury. The rain is expected to continue tomorrow but it should ease later in the day. So far, Christchurch has been free from flooding, and roads are clear. Blocked drains have not been a problem, perhaps because of the late fall of leaves this year after a long summer.