Shawn McAvinue called southern food producers early last week and asked them how the weather last month impacted on their operations.
Niwa data shows Wanaka recorded 3mm of rain in January, its lowest total since records began in 1927.
Other places in the South recording their lowest January rainfall were Manapouri (West Arm Jetty, 25mm) and Milford Sound (48mm).
Several near-record mean maximum temperatures were also recorded in the South.
Manapouri (West Arm Jetty) recorded its second-highest January mean maximum air temperature with 22.4degC; Cromwell recorded its third-highest with 27.9degC and Wanaka recorded its fourth-highest with 26.8degC.
Vegetable grower Peter Armstrong, of Totara in North Otago "It quickly went from a very wet spud growing season in December to a very dry one in January but the 45mm of rain we got in February was just brilliant — any rain you get in February is a real bonus. At the moment we are in the peak of our winter planting — cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. It’s quite satisfying planting greens and looking forward to having something to harvest in winter. It’s perfect conditions for growing, plenty of heat and a bit of rain, you can’t ask for much more."
Sheep and beef farmer Allan Richardson, of Avalon in West Otago "December was dry and January was more so and our growth rates have dropped off and before the rain this month, stock were eating more than we were growing, which was a real concern and at this stage we are considering off-loading store lambs. We need some good follow-up rain — we are certainly not out of the woods and we are a damn site drier than we were this time last year."
Beekeeper Peter Ward, of Hawea in Central Otago "The fine weather and good moisture in December and the start of January was good for bees to do their normal pollination and nectar collection and honey production was looking quite reasonable but then it dried off awfully quickly and came to an abrupt end in mid-January. The perfect gathering temperatures for bees is around 25degC, once it gets over 30degC, bees spend most of their time collecting water to release in the hive to cool it. As moisture gets scarce they have to fly further and further to find those water sources — it become quite critical for them."
Sharemilker Blake Korteweg, of Hedgehope in Central Southland "This is our sixth season on this farm and it was a lot drier, grass growth was well down when compared to other years. The stress on the grass made it hard to manage — it went to seed a lot and it was hard to keep the quality for the cows. Usually Southland is dry but you usually get enough rain to keep you going. When we did get rain it wasn’t much or you’d get it and it would be windy for a couple of days straight after and dry up any of the rain you got. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of spare winter feed made, in terms of baleage and silage. At the end of last year there was quite a bit around but it all seems to be used up. There will be a few people a little bit concerned about having enough winter feed and doing budgets to make sure they have enough. Last year we had a lot of good growth in autumn and people caught up on feed then so there will be a lot of farmers hoping they get that again this year."
Sheep farmer Mark Copland, of Ferndale in Eastern Southland "We were all right because we had rain coming through every eight or nine days but the ones who were getting really hurt were up in the Te Anau Basin — I’ve got a mate up there who said it was getting bloody dry, they had more rain than us in December but then got nothing in January."
Sheep farmer Will Orpwood, of Otama in Northern Southland
"It’s been pretty bloody dry — it hasn’t been an easy year with a late autumn and a cold spring but we did get some rain in January and got 40mm the other day, which was a bloody relief. When you get rain in Otama, the wind comes and dries it out. I haven’t bought store lambs this year because it’s dry and also because of the Covid scenario, where we go into lockdown and the works stop killing but I have been lucky so far and haven’t been overstocked and have been averaging good weights and killing lambs for good money, which is a relief."
