Snow hampers lambing efforts for some Southland farmers

Early morning snow on a farm at Glenham, Southland. Photo / Supplied / Dean Rabbidge

RNZ

Snow falling around the country is making for some soggy conditions for farmers in the thick of lambing.

Plummeting temperatures overnight blanketed parts of the country in snow.

In Southland, Balfour farmer Chris Dillon said he had been dealing with wintery weather for the past few days, which had led to more lambs dying than usual for the time of year.

"It's just been constant showers of horrible, sleety snow, which makes lamb survival difficult," Dillon said.

"The lambs are in the most sheltered paddocks they can be in, but it's a bad time of year to be having a snowfall event."

The snow and wind chill would result in a higher percentage of lambs dying, he said.

Further south in Glenham, sheep and beef farmer Dean Rabbidge woke up to a decent dump of snow overnight.

Sheep and beef farmer Dean Rabbidge has been busy putting woollen covers on lambs in the firing line of cold winds on 5 September, 2022. Photo / Supplied / Dean Rabbidge

"It was forecast, but I don't think anybody expected it to be as much as what we've got, so it's about a good inch to a couple of inches lying all over the farm, and we're only 200m above sea level."

Rabbidge, who is expecting about 6500 lambs this season, said the higher death rate due to the weather was demoralising.

He had been busy putting woollen covers on lambs in the firing line of cold winds.

"The lamb covers are biodegradable, they're obviously made from wool, so you chuck them on and there's a 95 per cent survival rate, which is pretty good," Rabbidge said.

"They keep the lambs nice and warm and give them the chance to conserve some energy, to get up and get a feed and once that's happened, they're good to go."

Canterbury has also had a dusting of snow. Henry Pinckney, who farms inland from Kaikōura, said things were not too bad there.

"We're just at the start of lambing but it hasn't been knocking the lambs, I think.

"A couple of good weeks of weather before has helped the animals, but thankfully, it's been mostly short and sharp and the sun's starting to peek out now."

In the North Island, a Hawke's Bay farmer said it had been a good five years since she had seen snow on the ground there.

Mel Croad, who farms sheep near Waipukurau, said the freezing winds would cause trouble for some in the middle of lambing.

"As long as it keeps moving through we should be fine, we're about 90 per cent of the way through lambing, so in that regard, we're pretty fortunate," she said.

"But I do know some people that are just getting started into the main mob, so this isn't the weather they'll be wanting at all."

- RNZ