23 June 2013
 
Winter blast rugged but farms coping
 
The active storm front, which brought hurricane force winds to Wellington and significant snow to farms in Canterbury and the High Country, has been testing but farms seem to be coping well.
 
“Hats off to the MetService and the other weather services for calling this one early,” says Katie Milne, Federated Farmers Adverse Events spokesperson, who is currently undertaking aerial investigations thanks to her partner, who is also a private pilot.
 
“After this weekend it is fair to say winter is here.  Weather forecasts are becoming far more accurate and that gives businesses, homeowners and farmers great certainty. Most farmers acted on the advisory and have benefitted from that.
 
“It is almost embarrassing to report that on the West Coast, perhaps the worst thing to have happened here is running out of fresh milk and bread.  Ironic since I am a dairy farmer.
 
“This minor inconvenience is nothing compared to what farmers have gone through on the other side of the divide and up to Taranaki.
 
“Wet, cold and muddy” is a common message I am receiving from farmers in the South Island especially. 
 
“It is fair to say snow has been a challenge, especially in Canterbury and Otago, but the biggest thing has been its combination with rain.  A lot of supplementary feed is going to waste but generally speaking, livestock seem to be coping well.
 
“As long as livestock have fibre in their stomachs they can easily weather cold conditions. 
 
“We know that farmers are working together to help their neighbours out.  Things like bulldozers have been used in extreme cases because some of the snowdrifts have been massive.  Chris Allen, our Mid-Canterbury provincial president, told me about snow drifts on one property reaching up to the eaves of the woolshed.
 
“It is frankly bitterly cold and hard going where even simple tasks, like opening farm gates, is preceded by having to dig the gates out first.
 
“Perhaps the big concern is what will happen next.  What farmers with snow need is rain and the last thing we want is frost.  Hard frosts will make it hard for stock to get at both feed and drinking water. 
 
“Frosts will freeze troughs and that’s where dehydration could become a factor for livestock. Frost also makes it hard for farmers to get out on-farm as it turns tracks into ice-skating rinks.
 
“Fortuitously, the top of the South Island missed the weather bomb that slammed into Wellington.  Our thoughts also go out to affected homeowners there.
 
“Having also spoken to farmers in formerly drought-hit areas the transformation has been remarkable.  Growing conditions over recent weeks in the Hawke’s Bay have been almost spring-like allowing farmers to rebuild feed reserves.
 
“This is a winter storm in winter so we’ve got nothing to complain about,” Katie Milne concluded.

ENDS

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