Tuesday, Nov 24, 2015
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
LACK OF RAIN BEGINNING TO BITE:
She’s dry out there...
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Seafield farmer Bevan Grice has just a tinge of green left on paddocks as the big dry looms. PHOTO TETSURO MITOMO 231115-TM-061
Mid Canterbury farmers are desperate for rain, their drought fears magnified this week as hot days and nor’west winds kick in. Following on from a drought last summer, el nino conditions forecast have made it even more possible dry conditions will return. Mayfield dryland stock farmer Peter Reveley believed it was shaping up to be the driest spring since the last el nino in 1997-1998. “Now it’s drying out exceptionally quickly.” There had been a 15mm top-up of rain falling last week, however with nor’westers forecast, by the end of this week farms in the area could be just as dry as those further down the plains. He was about to make light silage which he expected could have to be fed out to stock on the farm at Christmas, an unusually early time to be feeding out. Seafield farmer Bevan Grice has 400ha in three properties in the Seafield area. Two of the farms are dryland, but still have a tinge of green on them.
He has farmed in the area all this life. “You get one good year, two average years and two poor years,” Mr Grice said. “We are hoping for rain every day, two to three inches would be great.” This year was shaping up to be as bad as when drought was declared last summer. Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Limited manager Jess Dargue said the scheme was on 15 per cent restrictions due to low Ashburton River levels, and could have to be restricted by a further 15 per cent if Rangitata River levels dropped, which they almost did at the weekend before rain in the high country bumped levels up. The restrictions are not unusual, but the dry and cold spring has meant farmers are not getting the growing conditions they need. Ben Curry at the Rangitata Diversion Race (RDR) was hoping that nor’west
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conditions this week would keep the Rangitata levels high and prevent restrictions from that river. The race supplies Ashburton Lyndhurst and other schemes, including Mayfield Hinds and Valetta, altogether comprising about 500 farms in the district. Mr Curry said that while el nino conditions could increase demand for water from farmers, it could also help keep rivers higher with nor’wests causing rain and snowmelt in the high country. The MetService is forecasting a high of 26°C in Ashburton today, 27°C tomorrow and 28°C on Thursday, with northwesterlies, turning south-west with rain at times on Friday. In its weekly “hotspot” watch, Niwa has identified Mid Canterbury as being in a soil moisture deficit area. MetService rainfall data for the year to yesterday shows Ashburton has received 510mm of rain so far this year, compared to the long-term average of 618mm.
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