Relentless rain and diabolical ground conditions in the South has sparked a call for farmers to check the level of their effluent ponds.
Environment Southland warned farmers who had full effluent ponds because of the weather needed to get in touch with it.
Federated Farmers Southland meat and wool chairman and sheep, beef and dairy farmer Dean Rabbidge, of Glenham in Eastern Southland, said the wet weather had been "relentless".
"It has been wet since March."
He had worn wet-weather gear nearly every day of lambing for the past month.
About 10mm of rain each day had made ground conditions "diabolical", gateways muddy and paddocks waterlogged, limiting the dry area available to livestock.
However, a 12-hour dry spell most days had given livestock a chance to "get up, get going and have a drink before the next cycle comes through".
Stock survival had been "pretty bloody good considering the conditions".
He encouraged farmers struggling to seek any advice needed to get through.
Southland Rural Support Trust co-ordinator Fiona Comer, of Makarewa, north of Invercargill, said the trust had been getting calls from concerned farmers.
Sheep farmers’ concerns include the cold and wet conditions and the loss of older lambs.
The concerns of dairy farmers include cows calving earlier this season and a lack of feed available.
Feedback from primary sector professionals to trust members was the stress levels of farmers was much higher than usual for this time in the season, she said.
Trust members met industry stakeholders yesterday.
Environment Southland wanted dairy farmers with nearly full effluent ponds to contact the council as soon as possible to avoid them overflowing.
"The aim is to get the effluent on paddocks, which are low risk, so it won’t get into waterways."
Environment Southland resource management manager Donna Ferguson said the weather had been "challenging" in Southland this month.
Farmers could contact an effluent-spreading contractor to help reduce effluent in the pond if soil and weather conditions allowed, she said.
Contractors needed to be aware of the consent conditions, such as areas to apply effluent to, depth, ponding and runoff, Ms Ferguson said.
If contractors used slurry tankers then farmers needed to be aware of the compaction issues those machines could place on a farm and the time between application and cows returning to grazing that pasture.
If contractors used an umbilical system, farmers should ensure the contractor was aware of tile drains, distance to waterways, boundaries and dwellings.
Otago Rural Support Trust chairman and sheep and beef farmer Tom Pinckney, of Cromwell, said the trust had a couple of calls about the wet and cold weather.
He had heard about lambing losses in Otago this week.
"The slinkies were busy after that last snowfall — it hasn’t been great lambing weather."
He urged anyone struggling to call the trust on 0800 787-254.
