Selwyn Times: April 28, 2021

Onset of drought a concern for farmers
• By Susan Sandys
THERE IS little relief in sight
for Selwyn farmers battling the
driest conditions for at least 20
years.
National Institute of Water
and Atmospheric Research meteorologist
Ben Noll said there
was unlikely to be significant
rain in the next few weeks.
“There will
be spots of rain,
but we are going
to need a lot
more than spots
of rain to break
out of this really
long-standing
Ben Noll
period of
dryness,” Noll
said.
The first couple of weeks of
May could be very dry with a
high pressure system over the
country. Following this, the
long-term outlook for the end
of autumn and into winter
was predicting near normal
to below normal rainfall, with
above normal rainfall the most
unlikely.
Noll said a combination of
global climate drivers, potentially
influenced by climate change,
were the cause. These included
an atypical La Nina last summer
and contrasting ocean temperatures
in the Indian Ocean early
last year.
Rainfall data shows that just
77mm of rain was recorded at
Lincoln from January 1 to April
21. This followed just 68mm for
the same period last year, which
was the driest spell during this
time since 2001, when 52mm
was recorded.
“It’s tracking to become
the eighth driest January to
April period on record since
records began in Lincoln in
1881,” Noll said of this year’s dry
spell.
Farmer Nigel Barnett said only
half of his property at Dunsandel,
where he had farmed for
about 45 years, was producing.
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The other half had no irrigation,
and he was struggling to grow
grass there.
“It’s as dry as I have ever seen it
at this time of year,” Barnett said.
He had been forced to break
feed some of the farm’s 3500
ewes on crop residue in harvested
paddocks. He was grateful
he had a good store of silage for
the winter.
“We can start to feed it earlier
if we have to.”
Dairy farmer Tom Mason said
the dryland areas of his properties
in the Tai Tapu, Greenpark
and Motukara areas had no
growth on them. Generally he
HARSH:
Farmers of
livestock,
such as these
sheep near
Springston,
are praying for
rain. PHOTO:
GEOFF SLOAN
would winter stock on dryland
areas but these would have to be
shifted to irrigated paddocks.
“It’s been dry for 18 months
almost,” Mason said.
Motukarara dairy farmer
Simon Manson has started feeding
out several weeks earlier than
usual to young stock that came
home early from grazing on
drought-struck Banks Peninsula.
“I don’t remember ever doing
this before, and I have been
farming for 35 years,” Manson
said.
Ministry for Primary Industries
director of rural communities
and farming support Nick
Wednesday April 28 2021 Selwyn Times
NEWS 3
Story said the drought affecting
the entire North Island and part
of the South Island including
North Canterbury, which encompassed
Selwyn, was classified
as a large-scale adverse event in
March 2020.
The declaration had unlocked
Government funding to support
farmers and growers. The classification
remained in place.
The ministry had a range of
national measures to support
affected farmers. They did not
have to be in an area covered
by the classification to access
support.
A free winter feed budget
service could be accessed by
phoning 0800 BEEFLAMB (0800
233 352) or 0800 4 DairyNZ
(0800 432 479 69). Alternatively,
a feed co-ordination service,
accessed at https://www.mpi.
govt.nz/funding-rural-support/
adverse-events/dealing-withdrought-conditions/,
connected
farmers needing supplementary
feed immediately with available
sources such as silage and hay.
“MPI continues to closely
monitor dry conditions in
multiple areas which are mainly
along New Zealand’s east coast.
It provides regular updates on
the situation to the Agriculture
and Rural Communities
Minister Damien O’Connor,”
Story said.
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