Drought Update - Northland
Welcome to the weekly update from the Northland drought extension sub-committee for the dairy,
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Recent photo of a farm in Hikurangi, just north of Whangarei | horticulture, sheep and beef sectors.
There is a noticeable lift in moral after recent rains. Taking control of things on your farm now will cost you a lot less than trying to catch up once the rain comes.
Hopefully the information below will be of help to you when farming through this challenging drought.
Tafi Manjala
Chairman
Northland Extension Sub-committee Members:
Tafi Manjala (Chairman), David Swney and James Mwendwa (DairyNZ), Brian Hughes and Linda Stewart (Fonterra), Mike Eagles (Horticulture NZ), Malcolm McCullum (Meat and Wool), Gareth Baynham (AgFirst), Debbie Johnson (Northland Regional Council), Dennis Anderson (Federated Farmers), Roger Taylor (Agricultural recovery facilitator) and John Blackwell (Sheep and Beef Council).
Current Situation: 
- We received 5-120mm rainfall this week mainly around Whangarei (see pic above) - BUT no follow up rain is forecast
- Daily Milk production is 18% lower than last season
- Pasture Growth rates range from 3 - 17kgDM/ha/day
- If cricket numbers are above 10/m2 start baiting. Current counts :, Ruawai 20/m2, Kaikohe and Oromahoe 15/m2. Where there are cracks there are crickets - cost to bait $21/ha - organise your bait now. For more information click here.
- The assistance package announced by central government has provision around provisional tax, Income Equalisation and Working for Families. It does not contain provision for compensation, subsidies or grants. Talk to your accountant or the RSTfor more information click here.
- Stress is a normal response to situations like these - excess stress has serious side effects on the farm, the family and the community. Click here for more information.
Events:
Let your colleagues and clients know about these drought management events:
Dairy:
Sheep and Beef:
Drought response seminars will be held in the following locations:
- This week the sheep and beef sector delivered 3 events, where more than 100 farmers attended. There was good feedback at these events on the use of a feed budget and summer action plan as tools to help manage the drought and respond early.
- For information packs or feed budget forms click here.
Key Messages:
Below are key messages to help farmers manage their way through the drought:
Dairy:
- Have a written plan (covering financial, feed, stock, and people) with set dates and review weekly
- Recommend farmers milk the number of cows now that they would normally milk mid-March
- Look after yourself and your team. There is plenty of help and support around - make sure you use it
- Facial eczema is currently low (spore counts of 5 000 in Dargaville). Start dosing to build up protection
- If you received more than 50mm rainfall, time the application of nitrogen at say 40kg N/ha with the next lot of rain, plus a longer rotation of approx. 50 days to allow pasture cover to build up. Target nitrogen on kikuyu as it will respond faster than ryegrass.
- For more information visit www.dairynz.co.nz/drought
Sheep and Beef:
- Sheep farmers talk to your vet about drenching for barber's pole worm, a common parasite that may kill young sheep. Barber's pole matures much faster than other worms, so it can catch you by surprise (prepatent period 14 days vs 21 for most worms)
- The store market is still strong, so this makes any destocking still required a more flexible and palatable option. Be mindful of the impact of future cash flow in selecting stock for sale - you may need it to buy animals back in
- Pastures: Try to leave some cover on pastures, e.g 2-3 centimetres. Keep a rotation going if possible to give pasture plants some protection and time to rebuild between grazings. This will speed pasture recovery after the drought breaks.
- For more information visit www.meatandwool.co.nz
Horticulture:
- Keep the irrigation going. It is better to apply it at night when there is less evaporation. Apply mulch to trees to help retain moisture and don't mow your orchard. Leave the ground cover on to help retain moisture
- Talk to your hort rep/pack houses for advice. Strip-pick trees to reduce stress on trees
- Don't plant young trees now
- For more information visit www.hortnz.co.nz
Useful Links:
- To view the previous Northland drought updates click on the links below :
- To read more about managing the drought in Northland click on the links below :
Contacts:
If you require any further information on the Northland drought, please contact the relevant person below:
Dairy: Tafi Manjala, DairyNZ, email: tafadzwa.manjala@dairynz.co.nz
Sheep and Beef: Malcolm McCallum, Meat and Wool, email: jamac.m@xtra.co.nz
Horticulture: Mike Eagles, Horticulture NZ, email: m.eagles@xtra.co.nz
    
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