Feed a worry in dry times

While much-needed rain before Christmas was welcomed by many farmers, some areas in the north still face feed shortages as the dry weather continues.
"The rain coverage varied in different areas," said Julie Jonker, the Rural Support Trust co-ordinator for Northland, "and because the drought started so early in the season, a lot of damage has already been done. Rain in the next few weeks will help, but many will still struggle without adequate supplement supplies due to less hay and silage being made."
South of Ruakaka, Waipu, Mangawhai, parts of Dargaville and the Far North are extremely dry.
Farmers were being hit with a double whammy because supplements had also been difficult to obtain in those areas, Mrs Jonker said.
The demand for palm kernel exceeded supply in some areas and farmers were awaiting another shipment, but prices were high.
Other areas of Northland had managed to retain enough pasture cover for the moment and, with the dairy herds holding production, had stopped feeding supplements to save them for later use. Dairy farmers were being advised to maintain pasture quality by grazing to less than 1600kgDM/ha on ryegrass and to manage seedhead by topping or dry cows.
"Those with kikuyu have benefited most from the rain - given rain this grass responds quickly but it, too, is starting to feel the effects of the continued dry weather.
"Those who had applied early nitrogen before the follow-up rain around the new year are also holding," she said.
Autumn calvers were either dried off, drying off or being assessed on when to dry off. Keeping an eye on young stock conditions and supplementing them was easier than trying to recover live weight later.
Farmers in those areas usually consider treatment for facial eczema in January. The continued dry has kept spore counts low, but experts advise farmers to consider beginning protection as light showers and humid weather can change this at any time. Protection levels need to be built up before spore counts rise.
Mrs Jonker said the end-on-end droughts had seen a rise in cricket levels.
"Small crickets are already making their presence known. It might be a good time to start checking counts to see if it is time to lay bait. The drought last year will have increased the opportunity for egg laying."
As with facial eczema, flystrike was not yet a problem because of the dry weather but any light showers would see a change in that situation, Mrs Jonker said.
Farmers who had already destocked were being cautious about restocking too early.
Dairy farmers, in particular, faced a dilemma with retaining herd quality because good-quality stock could be in short supply in the future, Mrs Jonker said.