Drought increases irrigation interest

Press, 12 March 1983, Page 2

Drought increases irrigation interest

Blenheim reporter Some good can be found in everything, even a Marlborough drought, but few farmers would agree with this just now. What has emerged from the parched landscape has been an extreme interest in potential irrigation schemes. This in itself augurs well for the future prosperity of a region where green pastures are short-lived in the best of summers. The Marlborough County Council, Marlborough Catchment and Regional Water Board, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Works and Development, and the Marlborough Electric Power Board have all been involved in recent weeks in discussions and meetings with farmers and the member of Parliament for Marlborough, Mr D. L. Kidd, on studies of possible irrigation schemes. An attendance of about 60 people at such a meeting in the Hillersden Hall recently was an indication of the interest of Wairau Valley farmers in finding an answer to the present “backs to the wall” situation in the province. According to Mr P. G. Yeoman, senior farm advisory officer for the Ministry of Agriculture at Blenheim, the drought is probably not as acute climatically as that experienced in 1972. Other factors, however, have contributed to create an agricultural drought on a par with that year. The province has had about three other similar

summers in the last 50 years. . Mr Yeoman said that the drought had followed a dry autumn and a relatively cold, late spring. This had resulted in very little surplus feed being available, and little being used for silage. “Presure on feed last winter forced farmers to clean up reserves of standing feed and empty their barns. They came into the summer with run down reserves and little or nothing to feed out,” he said. The effect of this was clearly showing up now in. the condition of stock. Ewe live weights looked to be about 10kg down on those of last year, which was likely to have a depressing effect on a large percentage of farmers. “Stock condition has now dropped to the point where farmers are likely to have poor ewe survival in the winter, and poor ewe and lamb survival in the spring,” Mr Yeoman said. The drought had already meant that farmers had been unable to finish off their lambs in Marlborough. They had been forced to dispose of the bulk of them at sale yards instead of selling them as ready lines to the local freezing works of Waitaki N.Z. Refrigerating. Mr Yeoman said that an estimated 64,000 lambs had been sent out of Marlborough to Canterbury this season, and another 6000 to the North Island. The average return to farmers had been about half of what they would otherwise have received. The drought ’ had had a

similar depressing effect on other stock. Ewe fair prices were well down, by $7 to $8 a head, compared with last year. The combined effect of these returns has been to depress farm incomes substantially. “On our reckoning a reduction of about $6 a stock unit is common over the average farm of 3000 stock units,” Mr Yeoman said. Farmers most severely affected geographically are those in the lower Awatere Valley where spring growth was the slowest. Others feeling the pinch are those who have bought farms recently or who have undertaken major development in recent years and put a heavy strain on their financial resources. Cereal crops had been similarly affected by the drought, particularly where no irrigation water had been available. They had been hit by cold winter and spring temperatures, said Mr Yeoman. The prospects for other crops, however, are much brighter. The bulk of these have been irrigated and the severe season seems to have suited them. Good yields are expected from pip and stone fruit. The relatively high temperatures and availability of irrigation water have favoured the growing of grapes, and disease problems have been minimal. Ripening is well in advance of last year, and very good yields are expected when harvesting starts about March 21.