Drought costly

Press, 9 November 1988, Page 1

Drought costly

By JENNY LONG The drought will cost Canterbury farmers about $l9O million during the next 18 months, and flow-on effects to the community will be considerable, says the regional manager of MAFTech, Mr Keith Milligan. “The flow-on effects to the community at large will be far in excess of $l9O million.” A loss of agricultural output would occur whether or not it rained in the next few months, Mr Milligan said. MAFTech had called a meeting of business and civic leaders for Monday, November 14. The meeting would discuss the consequences of the income loss, and how these could be minimised, Mr Milligan said.

“Rural and urban people should be working together so that agriculture can be given a viable future,” Mr Milligan said. MAFTech consultants had estimated the loss at SI9OM from a review of farm budgets in the drought-affected area. In the Canterbury-North Otago region there are 5000 full-time farming units with a little more than 1000 classed as mixed cropping, and slightly fewer than 4000 as livestock properties. In Mid-Canterbury there would be a loss of arable crop production, but the main impact would occur next financial year when reduced wool weights, lower lamb percentages and crop yields would show up on the books, Mr Milligan said. '