Teaching the Ashburton taiaha actor in movie P6
P5
ASHBURTON
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Wednesday, Apr 23, 2014
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
Crops reach break point BY SUSAN SANDYS
SUSAN.S@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
Yesterday was make or break day for Dorie arable farmer John Evans as he waited for bad weather to clear so he could harvest endof-season crops. But along with other Mid Canterbury farmers desperate to get onto their paddocks, he saw forecast morning drizzle turn instead to persistent rain. âThis might be break day, I will seriously go out after today and wonder is it worth spending more money on this crop, am I going to get enough to justify it.â Called a âdrought in reverseâ by Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers, the big wet has seen over 130 millimetres of rain fall in Ashburton over the past 30 days, in what may be the dreariest and dampest autumn for more than 60 years. Mr Evans has 35 hectares of specialist seed crops, including 15 hectares of red beet and 10 hectares of brown top which were already cut and getting soggier on the ground by the day.
He was confident the remaining 10 hectares of linseed, which he would usually be harvesting around now, would survive. The crops represented about 15 per cent of his annual income, but he thought as long as banks were supportive he and other Mid Canterbury farmers would be âfineâ. âItâs frustrating, it means I will just have to be a bit more careful with my spending,â Mr Evans said. âMy 98-year-old cousin said the last time he could remember something like this was in the late 1940s.â It is not just crop farmers affected by the damp weather conditions. Dairy farmers are having to feed out more than usual in order to keep their cows warm, and are having to tend to pastures to make sure pugging does not ruin planned spring growth. And sheep farmers, such as Rab McDowell at Mayfield, have had to wait three weeks for livestock to dry out so they can be shorn. Shearing was underway on his farm Monday and yesterday.
Left - Wet, wet, wet - Dorie arable farmer John Evans and his soaked specialist seed crop. PHOTO DONNA WYLIE 220414-DW-298
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