Weird is the only way to describe the weather of the last six months. It was a weird, cold wet spring, a weird unpredictable summer. And now it looks like a weird and very wet autumn.

The winds first blew from the west Southwest and then we finally got some north easterlies in mid-February. But that stopped and turned to southwesterly again, drying out the good the rain had done – until the heavy rains of mid-March when we had 240ml in six days, which put a halt on maize harvest after an already late and slow start.

Rain has been good news for farmers because it has kept the grass growing and cows in production. But it hasn’t been what we wanted for maize harvesting.

The cold wet spring delayed planting of some crops so we put in shorter maturing varieties to mitigate that. But recent wet conditions have made it difficult to get into paddocks to harvest the crops.

Swamp farms struggle

Farmers with swamp land have struggled with the weather too. Wet conditions in the winter and spring saw grass growth suppressed due to the grass roots being in saturated soil with little oxygen. Then it stopped raining and the westerlies started drying the ground out; so much so it went almost rock hard, causing cracking. So the grass has been struggling all season round for those farmers.

However, with the recent rain most farmers’ grass has been growing increasingly well, enabling them to keep cows milking and production up to make the most of the $6 kg/ms payout.

The challenges ahead going into the winter will be to keep herds well fed, especially as Palm Kernel Extract usage is reduced and supplies could be cut back. I’m aware that at least two shipments have been turned back recently; one for not having the right paper work and the second, in March, because the ship carrying the PKE had dense fouling of barnacles and tube worms on its hull.

Fonterra has also reduced the amount of PKE farmers can feed milking cows. Palm Kernel Extract has been what some called the ‘KFC’ for dairying as farmers running short of feed could call up and make an order for delivery in the next few days, and pay for it later when their milk cheque had come in.

Local supplements

That’s not the case with locally produced supplements like baleage, hay and maize silage, which gets paid for once delivered – which is not always when it is needed to be fed, due to being mostly seasonal supply. Contractors and growers, including our own company, need commitment in advance from farmers in order to determine how much maize to grow. We can store some hay and wrapped silage but that comes with the risks of spoilage caused by a number of pests.

Surprisingly, one of the worst examples of spoilage we’ve seen recently proved to be cats. We had the 33 bales in a paddock near houses clawed by cats. If it’s not cats its pukeko, which climb all over the bales causing damage by pecking holes in thewrap; or rats looking for a warm home.

Manage supplies

Any tear in the wrap lets air in, which brings with it the risk of affecting the quality of the feed. These are all issues facing supplement supply companies that farmers need to understand.

In the new reality, where PKE will no longer be so readily available, farmers and feed companies including our own – Bill Webb Feed Solutions – need to sit down and work out how to manage the supplies farmers will need in the future, while giving certainty for contractors to grow sufficient crops.

Aside from buying in feed, farmers’ thoughts will also be turning to pasture renewal. Not a lot was done last year partly due to the poor payout and good grass growth, especially last autumn. Renewing pasture from paspalum or kikuyu could present problems with black beetle, slugs and army caterpillar, so extra attention needs to be given to controlling these.

There are reports of increased numbers of army caterpillar in maize crops this season and after harvest those critters will be on the move looking for their next meal – which could be your newly-sown pasture or fodder crops. Be aware of the warning signs and act promptly to minimise the damage they can cause.