WELCOME FALL OF RAIN

Taranaki Daily News, 19 November 1934, Page 7

WELCOME FALL OF RAIN

THREE WEEKS’ “DROUGHT” SERIOUS EFFECTS CHECKED. DAIRY PRODUCTION DIMINISHING. DOMINION OUTPUT REVIEWED. After three weeks of dry weather welcome rains fell at the week-end at a time when rain in beneficial quantities had become an urgent, need. The “drought” in the dairying districts of the Dominion and in Taranaki in particular had become serious from a production viewpoint. Farmland had become parched and the milk yield had fallen *to a considerable extent. A continuance of the drought would have meant serious loss to’ many farmers.

Rain in worth while quantities last fell on October 27 and 28, when .71 inches was registered. This was by no means sufficient to offset the dry weather that has been experienced during the last three weeks, and gardens and farms alike have suffered considerably. High temperatures and long hours of sunshine have tended to increase the seriousness of the position.

Country people entirely; dependent upon tanks for. house aind cowshed water supply have in some districts been carting water from the now i low-running rivers. The Waiau River and others are said to be lower than has been the case for many years, and residents at Opunake have found it necessary to ration the water supply.■ While country districts have been seriously affected, residents. in. New Plymouth have been able to water their gardens without restriction, and the electric supply has not been affected. The amount of water passing ..oyer the spillway at Mangamahoe'has diminished appreciably during the last week, but there is an ample supply in reserve. Had the dry spell continued the usual precautions would have been taken. In some cases serious drops in production have been noted by dairy company managers, but last night’s heavy downpours should check the diminution of yield. The output of butter-fat in the Dominion from. August 1, the opening of the current dairying season, to November 10, shows a fall of 5 per cent., compared with the spring production last year. However, this reduction is not wholly attributable to the present dry conditions,, as the production from August onward has been from 4 per cent, to 5 per cent, below that of 1933, when a particularly favourable spring was experienced. The warm, weather .during recent weeks has been accompanied in some districts by drying winds, which have checked the normal growth of pastures. The following table compares the grading returns for the Dominion to November 10 with those of the. corresponding periods last year: — BUTTER. 1934 1933 Tons • Tons August 6,487 6,462 September 10,136 ' 10,912 October 15,195 ■ 15,850 November (to- 10th) 9,000 8,913 Total tons 40,818 42,137 , CHEESE. 1934 1933 - Tons Tons August 712 .691 September 4,225 4,629 October . 9,899 10,983 November (to 10th) 6,414 6,886 Total tons . 1 21,250 23,189 Reduced to a common basis, the production to November 10 this year equals 94,500,7461 b. of butter-fat, compared with 99,299,0361 b. for the same period in the previous year, a fall of 4,798,2901 b., or 5.1 per cent.