Drought Update - Northland
Welcome to the weekly update from the Northland drought committee for the dairy, horticulture, sheep and beef sectors.
Taking control of things on your farm now will cost you a lot less than trying to catch up once the rain comes.
The droughts of 1945/6 and 1982/3 did not end until April 19th - 22nd. Farmers are encouraged to have a "plan A" and "plan B" that are reviewed weekly. A few showers are forecast around Thursday.
Tafi Manjala
Chairman - 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) John Blackwell (Sheep and Beef Council) and Des Hamlin (RD1).
The soil moisture deficit graph below shows the extended period at wilting point levels this year compared to previous years. Note: Whangarei had 120mm rain on 1 February and soil moisture is back to below long term average levels. Kaitaia received 25mm of rain. (Source: NIWA).
Current Situation:
- Rainfall last week ranged from 0 – 13mm
- Milk production is on-par with last season but down 10% on a daily basis for the region
- Pasture growth rates typically range from 5 – 18 kgDM/ha/day
- Crickets at 25/m2 can reduce pasture production by 2 tDM/ha
- Cricket numbers are on the increase. A 3.55 metre length of plastic pipe makes a circle of about 1 square metre area for counting crickets. Mix 4ml of dishwashing liquid in 10 litres of water and pour down soil cracks to flush out crickets
- If cricket numbers are above 10/m2, start baiting. Cost to bait $25-30/ha – organise your bait now. For more information click here
- If you can’t get water to your stock on the farm, you have to take your stock to water elsewhere. Check on run-offs more frequently to ensure they have adequate water supply
- 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 Rural Support Trust for more information, or download the brochure Drought Relief in Northland to find out what government assistance is available
- Stress is a normal response to situations like these. Excess stress has serious side effects on the farm, the family and the community. For more information download the brochure Coping with Stress on the Farm.
- The fire risk in the region is classified as extreme, with total fire bans in place
- There RST Ag Recovery Facilitators on board are Roger Taylor. Luke Beehre and Bruce Cutforth. They are available to deal with drought issues. Contact Helen Moodie to book a visit on 0800 778 667.
Events:
Let your colleagues and clients know about these drought management events:
Dairy:
The field day on the 15th of February at Jordan Valley was attended by 55 people. Speakers covered finance, people welfare, assistance from central government and farm management advice.
We are using a shed meeting concept to engage any suppliers who can organise six or more fellow farmers to their home to help with feed plans, and to discuss management options to get through the drought. Contact your Fonterra area manager or DairyNZ consulting officer if you would like to be involved. To-date we have held four shed meetings where 48 farmers attended.
Sheep and Beef:
Key Messages:
Below are key messages to help you manage your way through the drought:
Dairy:
- Look after yourself and your team. There is plenty of help and support around - make sure you use it
- After the next 30mm of rainfall, look to start extending the rotation so that you allow pasture cover to build up. This helps to protect pasture from over-grazing. Feeding supplements on a sacrifice paddock can help you stretch out the rotation. Pick a shady paddock with good water. Nitrogen at say 40kgN can be applied after the next rains to increase pasture growth
- Talk to your financial team on options for your farm - tax, income equalisation, interest only options
- 30% of diet needs to be forage if feeding PKE
- If feeding more than 4.5kgDM/cow of maize silage you need to supplement magnesium, salt
- Facial eczema is currently low but spore counts are rising. Start dosing to build up protection
- For more information visit www.dairynz.co.nz/drought
Sheep and Beef:
- Killing space: There is spare killing capacity at Moerewa, SFF and Green Lea at present so there is less pressure getting stock killed if required
- This is a great time to sort out an animal health plan with your vet. Have a plan for each stock class around parasite management, facial eczema prevention and feeding levels. Set trigger levels for taking action and share your plan with the wider business team. Stock water is still critical for some farms - give the best water to the young stock as they are most vulnerable to water-borne diseases.
- Financial: Now is a good time to sit down and work out your current financial position. Revise budgets and cash flows for the next 12 months and talk to your accountant and bankers. If you have destocked, keep the proceeds available so that you can act to restock when the time is right. Investigate Government assistance - income equalisation with your accountant.
- For more information visit www.meatnz.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:
    
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