Help at hand for Tararua farmers suffering because of drought

Stock owned by East Coast Rural Support Trustee for Tararua Tony Rhodes is being fed willow branches. Photo / Dave Murdoch

East Coast Rural Support Trustee for Tararua Tony Rhodes welcomed the official recognition of drought conditions in the district.

"We welcome the acknowledgement of the seriousness of the conditions. The key driver is the availability of water for both stock and domestic consumption. This is an issue across the whole of the district and we have to acknowledge this from a feed point of view."

He said around the Pahiatua basin area from Woodville to Mount Bruce and back to the Tararuas it was quite green but despite that water availability was still very limited.

"The declaration of drought is important because it provides support measures for farmers to plan income equalisation deposits with Inland Revenue. This is particularly so for sharemilkers and contract milkers where income has ceased because cows have been dried off."

He said it also allowed application to be made to Work and income for rural assistance payments to meet essential living costs.

"In addition, some banks have announced discontinued interest costs and fee rebates on drought assistance loans and seasonal finance."

Rhodes said it was important that farmers continued to take action to deal with the on-going dry period and try and set up systems to maximise recovery when drought-breaking rain does come.

"A number of dairy herds have now dried off completely, two months earlier than normal."

He said it was acknowledged that there were delays at getting animals processed at meat processing plants but the priority should be to hold animal condition for the next season.

"Some farmers have been feeding willows to supplement cattle feed and a significant number of sheep farmers have been feeding out maize or barley grain to hold condition in breeding ewes."

However, he said stock water was an issue on many farms, particularly where river flow or dams were the source.

"Horizons Regional Council has been very supportive of farmers accessing river water for livestock.

"But water is a bigger issue than feed. There is still some baleage and supplementary feed available in Manawatū, but it's the water supply that is the concern."

Rhodes said it is important that people seek advice and discuss their financial situation with their accountant and their banker and talk with their neighbours to discuss their options.

He said the Rural Support Trust continued to provide support and assistance to the rural community and the trust co-ordinator Jane Tylee could be contacted on 06 376 3825 or 027 367 3672.