Waikato farmers going dry

The rains came too late for some of the Greater Waikato's 6000 dairy farmers, many of whom will dry off their herds in the next 14 days about three weeks ahead of schedule. The rains came as Fed Farmers welcomed the decision to declare drought in areas of North Island's East Coast, paving the way for Government help, including tax assistance measures, funding for farm management advice and rural support trusts reports The Waikato Times. "We had 500 millimetres of rain yesterday," said Waikato Rural Support Trust chairman Neil Bateup, who was drying off his Ohinewai herd. While his farm was unusually dry for the season, Mr Bateup said the grass was still green compared to the same time last year. Jason Minkhorst, general manager commercial for Fonterra milk supply, would not say how much milk production was currently down in the Waikato. In February, however, production was down 5% on expectations. Hamilton based AgFirst agricultural consultant John Hall said pasture cover and feed supplies were low across the Waikato after five weeks of dry weather. "Many farmers are drying off, or seriously considering drying off their cows in the next seven to 14 days." Otorohanga dairy farmer Frank de Crom said he had already dried 20 of his 130 herd off, and he expected to dry the rest off this week as the farm had no grass. But sharemilkers Barry McTamney and Nicky Marshal who milk 250 cows on 82 hectares nearby, are aiming to continue milking into late May. "We will be able to carry on because we went to once per day milking in March to release the pressure," Mr McTamney said. "The rain has probably got to continue for another couple of days for it to be a big benefit."