Drought grips Canterbury

Press, 12 February 1982, Page 9

Drought grips Canterbury

By

PETER

BRITTENDEN

Low ewe weights, poorly developing lambs. very limited feed resources, and widespread concern for the immediate future.

This is the picture painted by farmers and farm advisory officers contacted this week’about the effect of the continuing dry weather in North and Mid-Canterbury. During December and January the rainfall at Christchurch Airport was well below average and this situation was repeated in most areas.

Only Banks Peninsula and the foothills south of the Hanmer area have had enough rain to ensure a little pasture growth during the summer.

, In December 15mm of rain was recorded at the airport. The average for that month is 52mm. Last month 12mm was recorded compared with the average of 44mm.

The two main concerns for most farmers at present are finishing off lambs which are quickly ‘‘hardening" because of the’dry feed being offered and ensuring some liveweight gain in the ewe flocks before tupping. If ewes do not put on weight before rams are put out in March and April then next spring’s lambing is sure to be-disappointing — statistically at least.

On some farms in the Mid and North Canterbury areas stock are being fed straw and barley in an effort to improve their condition. The situation at present is a virtual repeat of last summer when farmers experienced very dry conditions.

Only a relatively mild winter last year and' some reasonable spring growth which ensured that many lambs on lowland farms were fattened and farmers were able to cut hay supplies, have prevented a really disastrous situation.

The present dry weather is sure to have some effect on ewe fairs in Mid and North Canterbury this year. Some indication of this can be gained by comparing prices at a two-tooth fair in Southland this week to those prevailing at the special Addington two-tooth sale last Friday and the annual Kaikoura ewe fair last Monday.

The top price for Romneys in the Southland fair was $56 and very few ewes sold for under $3O. The reverse applied at the two sales in the Canterbury area where only an isolated pen exceeded $3O. Probably the condition oi the ewes in Southland is better, but not to the extent of around $25.

Mr A. R. Gerard, a Ministry of Agriculture farm advisory officer stationed at Rangiora. said conditions are far from good in North Canterbury areas.

Ewe liveweights are often in the 45-50 kg range when tupping was only a matter of

weeks away and by then the optimum range should be between 55 and 60 kg. The ewe liveweights on one farm have dropped 4 kg in three weeks and this gives some indication of the difficulties farmers are experiencing, he said. Supplementary feeding of grain and straw is not uncommon. On many farms the best feed available is in stubble paddocks after harvest. said Mr Gerard. He said there is little lamb feed left and lambs left on farms are not doing well. Winter feed crops are not developing well and some farmers are being forced tc consider resowing because oi poor germination.

Barley crops have harvested well which should mean plenty of barley will be available for supplementary feeding. Of potential concern is porina and grass-grub infestation. Mr Gerard said porina flights seem to be smaller this year compared with last summer when porina caused a serious problem, especially in the Oxford and Eyre county areas.

Mr P. Grigg, a farm advisor at Ashburton, said between 12mm and 35mm of rain fell in the Ashburton County last Friday and this will help, in some measure, what is a difficult situation. Farmers need a lot more

than that amount of rain but are hoping what occurred last Friday will improve winter crops and. to some extent, the available pasture. The situation in the county is varied. In the foothills areas pasture is still looking quite good but nearer the coast, and in particular Dorie, farmers are having a very difficult time.

Ewe weights are light and what lambs are left are not doing well at all, he said.

One consolation is that most farmers have been able to sell their old cull ewes and this has provided some relief.

Mr B. G. Brookes, a ministry livestock officer based at Darfield. said in his area hay and barley are being fed to sheep, irrigation wells are drying out. and stock is starting to suffer from feed shortages.

In the Porters Pass area conditions are much better because of quite frequent rain from north-west winds but. surprisingly, the Russells Flat area, which does not usually experience bad droughts, is having its worst for many years.

Mr Brookes said farmers will really need a good autumn to help improve the liveweights of ewes. Heavy feeding will be required to ensure reasonable weights and tupping, he said.