Counselling and advisory services are stepping up, and farmers shouldn't hesitate to reach out. A problem shared is better than keeping it to yourself.
Northland dairy farmers are coming out of two low payout years, and now have this on their plates.
Any farmer worried about their financial position should make early contact with their bank, their suppliers, their vet and stock company.
Northland had an unexpectedly wet October, and there was a lot of damage to pasture from pugging.
When that was quickly followed by dry conditions, roots of the grass exposed by stock hooves never really got the chance to take again.
A lot of pasture is in bad shape. South-westerly winds robbed water from dams through evaporation, although streams and rivers have held up reasonably well.
One plus was that quite a lot of silage and hay was made, so there are reasonable amounts of feed on hand.
From this week the Federated Farmers 0800 FARMING (0800 327-646) line will be available to connect farmers looking for feed and other support with farmers who have it to sell.
But there's a long way to go, and we just don't know when the rain will come. It's not looking good for the rest of February, but the forecasts are right only about 50 per cent of the time.
We could get rain in March, and farms would get a chance to recover, or the dry could push all the way out to May, and then our winter is stuffed as well.
It's the uncertainty that adds to farmers' worry.
Don't stew on things on your own. The Northland Rural Support Trust is one of a number of groups that can help. Rally round with your neighbours and keep an eye out for each other.
- John Blackwell is Federated Farmers' Northland provincial president.
