Rain, wind and flooding wreaked havoc on farmers with early livestock arrivals last year, but lambing this year has so far been a breeze. In July, Marlborough recorded 50.8 millimetres of rain, 77 per cent of the long-term average for the month (66mm), according to Plant&Food Research scientist Rob Agnew. Ward farmer Tony West said July's weather had been unbelievable compared to last year, when the province was hard hit with 152.6 millimetres of rain reports The Marlborough Express. "In my time it [2009] is probably the easiest lambing we've had," he said. "No doubt that will change soon, it can't stay like this." Mr West said the survival rate on his property had been excellent and he had not housed as many lambs as in the past. "Where there's livestock, there is dead stock, but there are far fewer than normal." Waihopai Valley farmer Chris Dawkins said it was early days yet, but some of his first ewes had begun lambing. "It's better than last year," he said, when lambs were being born into water. And this year there was also the prospect of good lamb prices. Mr Dawkins said feed cover was lower than normal, which would be reflected in lamb growth rates, but despite this his ewes appeared to be milking well. On the Wairau Plain Woodbourne farmer Kate Jordan said about 40 of the property's 450 ewes had lambed. Dry, warm conditions had made the beginning of lambing easy, she said. Wither Hills Farm Park manager David Molineux said scanning percentages of the property's merinos and corriedales were down, but lambing had gone fairly well "We've been lucky."
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