As the South Island clears, the North gets hit

With North Island farms facing a wet cold spell, their Southern colleagues are now almost clear of the widespread heavy snow which affected much of the High Country late last month.

“Nor’westers have brought a welcome thaw to the South Island’s High Country," says Chas Todhunter, Federated Farmers High Country chairperson.

“Brassica crops are mostly accessible for our stock and most High Country farmers are feeding out normally for this time of the year, instead of burning through feed to give our stock extra fibre.

“Seeing the North Island is now taking a bit of a beating, it makes all farmers deeply appreciative of the early warnings we received from the MetService. As a High Country farmer, I know they’ve invested a lot of effort to improve their snow predictions and it is working.

“The MetService forecasted the June snow as they did last year. The warnings have been accurate, timely and extremely helpful.

“While we all secretly hope the forecasters get it wrong, we also know an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

“From experience it is far easier to muster sheep before the snow than when you are up to your armpits in the stuff.

“Federated Farmers High Country would like to publicly thank the Rural Support Trust for checking on farmers and organising help for those who needed it. Their work is invaluable and much appreciated during these events.

“Of course nothing would have been possible without the volunteers who took time to help farmers by shifting stock or by undertaking the physically demanding task of snow raking trails for stock.

“That same appreciation extends to the councils and utilities and their workers and contractors. They did a ton of hard work clearing roads, fixing power lines and getting us back online with the rest of the world,” Mr Todhunter concluded.

ends

© Scoop Media