There’s never a good time to have a drought but a spring/early summer one is particularly difficult.
This is the time of year when you expect to have your best growth, but you need rain for growth and Northland hasn’t had any significant falls for months.
A farmer I spoke to last night said he’s had less than a half the normal rainfall in the past few months and his farm looks the way he’d expect it to look in autumn after a dry summer.
The government ahs recognised the seriousness of the problem. Agriculture Minister David Carter has declared a medium level drought zone everywhere north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
That triggers relief measures including funding for Rural Support Trusts to provide help, welfare support and farm management advice.
It doesn’t, nor should it, provide handouts for farmers.
This is the first declaration of drought this summer but it may not be the last. MAF is monitoring several other areas which have had well below average rainfalls.
We got a very welcome 11 mls of rain in North Otago on Monday. That was the first significant fall for more than three months but it wasn’t enough for anyone to turn off their irrigators and we already need more.
Homepaddock 