A change in plans to combat the dry

Dry conditions biting in Otago has farmers activating alternative plans to get through. Shawn McAvinue talks to Clutha sheep and beef farmer Brad Williams about bringing his annual in-calf heifer sale forward two months due to a lack of grass and wanting to keep the condition of his pregnant cattle moving forward.

A sure-fire way to get some rain on a parched farm is to hold a drought sale, a Clutha farmer says.

Wet and cold weather hit an in-calf heifer sale on The Gums farm in Circle Hill near Milton, last week.

The 460ha sheep and beef farm is owned by Brad and Rochelle Williams and daughters Samantha, 7, and Madison, 6.

"Selling all your stock is the best way to break a drought," Mr Williams joked before the sale.

The family had been farming The Gums for five year since moving from East Otago and its dry summers, he said.

"We moved down here to get away from them."

The date of the annual heifer sale had been brought forward two months due to the dry conditions biting on The Gums, he said.

He was selling the heifers because he did not want them to lose body condition due to a lack of grass on the farm.

"There’s nothing there for them and we want to keep them all going forward."

Spring on The Gums had been colder and windier than usual.

"You’d get a bit of rain and it would be blown away."

Grass growing conditions were good in December but they had not been for the rest of summer.

Showers had been isolated, he said.

A thunderstorm, which produced 20mm of rain for a nearby neighbouring farmer, delivered 5mm to The Gums.

"There have been some big variations."

The winter crops on the farm were struggling, he said.

"We will need a kind May to help us through."

PGG Wrightson agent Warwick Howie, of Lawrence, said some farmers were battling dry conditions on their farms by sending ewes, hoggets and ewe lambs south to graze.

"That was easy to find but it has got a bit tougher now."

Some farmers were buying baleage to feed stock.

"Luckily Southland has feed."

Many farmers affected by the dry conditions had sent lambs to the works or sold as stores to farmers in Southland and Canterbury.

"There are different things happening to try and get the stocking rate down and keep everything well fed."

The drier areas was in the areas surrounding State Highway 1 between Dunedin and Balclutha and around Lawrence.

About 65% of the in-calf heifers on offer found a new home at the drought sale at The Gums.

A pen of 15 rising 3-year-old Hereford heifers sold for the top price of $1550 each, Mr Howie said.

Twenty rising 2-year-old Angus heifers sold for $1500 and another 15 from the same mob sold for $1480 each.

A pen of 39 rising 2-year-old Angus Hereford heifers sold for $1540 each.

The final pen of 48 rising 2-year-old Hereford heifers did not sell.

Sheep and beef farmer Christine Graham, of Hindon, was at the sale with her husband Dave to potentially buy some in-calf heifers.

The final four months of last year had been good for growing supplementary feed.

"Our winter feed was all made before mid January — it was all done before the dry really hit."

Usually she would have lambs sent away to the works by the end of March but lower sheepmeat prices meant they would more likely be sold as stores, something she never usually did.

She also owned land in Tuapeka Mouth, which was drier than usual but not as dry as Hindon, so some lambs had been sent to the Clutha block.

"Without that wee valve we would have been stored long ago — that’s why we bought the block, drought protection. Everybody does what they need to do."

A farmer had a responsibility to be prepared for adverse weather, Mrs Graham said.

Strong wind hit their farm in recent years, sucking moisture from the soil and destroying two hay barns.

Sheep and beef farmer Leon Leslie, of Sutton, was at the sale to potentially buy heifers as he and his wife Colleen looked to reduce their number of sheep and run more cows.

Cows would graze any "rank browntop" on the hills of their more than 1600ha farm dries out.

"They just chew away."

Dry conditions had began to bite recently, he said.

"We’ve been good up to now and gone downhill rapidly but we’ve made a lot of supplement."

A lack of moisture had a winter crop of kale falling down to grow, meaning there would be a reliance on feeding out hay and baleage.

Otago Rural Support Trust chairman Tom Pinckney, of Cromwell, said the dry conditions were widespread across their catchment including Central Otago, Clydevale, East Otago, Hakataramea, Hillend, Kurow, Lindis Valley and the Maniototo.

The trust had been fielding more calls than usual and the dry conditions was a talking point, Mr Pinckney said.

Any recent rain has fallen too late in Otago to grow any significant winter feed.

"It’ll green up but there won’t be a whole lot of feed with it."

The trust was organising "coffee cart" events in rural Otago to "lighten the mood and allow people to get off the farm and share some of their problems with others", Mr Pinckney said.

"A problem shared is a problem halved."

The trust could connect farmers to people who could help them navigate a testing time including financial advice and supplementary feed providers.

"There is a lot of surplus feed in Southland and we can help facilitate getting that north."

The trust is hosting a wellness event in the Matakanui Rugby Clubrooms in Omakau on Tuesday next week.

Speaking at the panel event will be farmers Jack Cocks, Tyler Langford and occupational therapist Lana Van Lierop.

The event will be hosted by trust ambassador Matt Chisholm.

Dry conditions were another challenge for some farmers already facing higher on-farm inflation and lower commodity prices.

"We’ve got a whole lot of pressures and now this."

On March 27, the government classified the dry condition in Otago as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking further support for farmers and growers, including tax relief, and enabling the Ministry of Social Development to consider rural assistance payments.

Farmers and growers can contact their local Rural Support Trust on 0800-787-254.

shawn.mcavinue@alliedpress.co.nz