Bruce Eade: A whole lot can happen in just a month

Photo / File

Well, there's certainly been plenty happening locally and nationally since I last wrote.

As I penned my last column I said winter had been pretty kind in the South and to a certain degree this has been true - on the West Otago side of the Blue Mountains, anyway.

Readers of this wonderful paper north of Balclutha will certainly have a different take on the month of July, as almost record falls on the Taieri, Dunedin and North Otago have ensured no-one up there will be working winter crop ground any time soon.

You really have to feel for them, as there's almost no worse time for it to happen.

But farmers in the lower south are a hardened bunch and most have been farming long enough to know that in the winter it's a matter of when, not if it will get wet and you have to do your best to prepare and deal with it.

Calving is now in full swing in the south.

Our spring herd started calving August 4 and things are ticking on well apart from the tremendous run of bull calves we seem to be having, (good thing there's a strong market for straight Friesian bull calves).

I'd much rather have early heifer calves but, as everyone says, it all evens out eventually.

Our milkers have been going outside during the day for about 10 days now but are still being housed and fed at night, this gives us a chance to get that bit of extra grass ahead of us.

Colostrum cows go inside at night too, ensuring they get a good fill of silage and minerals after they have calved.

Southland is off to a racing start weather wise.

There's been some long, sunny, dry days so far in August and that puts a spring in everyone's step.

Everything looks so much better on a sunny day, the stock and even the grass cover.

Speaking of grass, the sun is bringing up the soil temp, the grass is changing colour and I think it's even starting to grow.

Most of the transports will have spread a bit of early nitrogen on and there's even been a few helicopters out doing the same.

Hopefully the weather will stay settled for the next while and maybe, just maybe, this year could be Southland's year to hit a home run.

This outbreak of the disease Mycoplasma bovis in South Canterbury must be causing a few jitters in the south, too.

The fact that Ministry for Primary Industries hasn't been able to nail down the cause or how it got into the country is a little unnerving, as is the seemingly long period it can remain undetected.

While it can't be transferred to humans and we're told it doesn't affect the milk or meat of the animals, it can still be a massive loss of animals to anyone whose herd might contract it.

People have said it spread because of the cows being in close contact while housed in a barn. I'd just like to point out that there is no difference between close contact in a barn and, say, 500 cows grazing in a paddock or standing in the cow yard waiting to be milked.

I was working in the Ireland in 2001 when the foot-and-mouth outbreak happened in the United Kingdom and the images still haunt me.

Although Mycoplasma bovis is nowhere near as devastating as foot-and-mouth, it should be seen as a stark reminder as to the ripple effect something like this can have on New Zealand agriculture.

Please be considerate when thinking about shifting animals from that part of the country at the moment, if in doubt, contact MPI.

And then we had the ''Jacinda effect''.

Don't get me started on her ''water tax''.

I will say this, though. As farmers in Southland, we are all pretty used to trying to get rid of water off our land as opposed to applying it, so does that mean we will all get a tax credit in future if they get in Parliament?

Until next time - drink more milk.