Click photo to enlarge
Tim Kensington prepares to drench newly weaned lambs on Ben
Graham's Hartfield farm near Hyde. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Dry weather has forced some Central Otago farmers to
start weaning a month early.
One such farmer was Ben Graham, who farms the 3500ha
Hartfield property near Hyde.
He last week weaned lambs off 2000 Merino ewes which had been
mated to a terminal sire.
Mr Graham said normally he weaned that flock in mid-January,
but the lack of rain encouraged him to act early and he sold
810 lambs as store and put the balance on to saved irrigated
pasture.
He said Hyde through to the Maniototo appeared to be missing
out on rain, while the Middlemarch end of the Strath Taieri
valley was catching passing showers.
