SCORCHED PASTURES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 38, 25 January 1946, Page 5

SCORCHED PASTURES

EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY DROUGHT

FEARS FOR, THE FUTURE WATER AT A PREMIUM Hopes were clashed last Wednesday •when the heavy threat ol' rain, which /hung over the whole of the Bay of Plenty dispersed, again by 5 p.m. with only a slight drizzle falling in -various districts. The. long dry spell, which has been almost continuous since October 20 has now assumed the proportions of a very serious drought, described by many farmers •as one of the worst on record. Unless heavy continuous rain falls in the near future, the whole position •of dairying in this area will be seriously jeopardised.

For some weeks past, water has been transported by carrying firms to districts 25 miles out on the Rangitaiki Plains, at the rate of some, four to five thousand gallons daily]. The position in the Borough of Wha,katane where the. mains arc fed from a reservoir on Hillcrest to which water is pumped from the river is not acute but at Ohope •f 9 * where the supply is mainly from tanks residents are all more or less dependant upon auxiliary means.

Maori Settlements

Maori settlements throughout the

district are almost without exception drawing water from either the Tarawera, Rangitaiki or Whakatane rivers. ’Fortunately, in practically ;all instances, the pahs are situated in close proximity to the river

banks, and as a result, no hardship t is experienced. The position, however is totally different on certain part’s of the Rangitaiki, where thou-

sands of acres have been literally reduced to dust through the absence •of water. The worst of these areas •are situated at Onepu, parts of OtaJkiri and Thornton, and Te Telco, Where many of the herds, have been shifted, to kindlier parts. The lew remaining are, seen dragging through clouds of dust to the water holes which fortunately, are still well supplied, owing to the porous nature of the soil.

Valleys Still Green

Reports from Gpourtao, Taneatua, Waimana and Kutarcre indicate that .pastures' are weathering the heat reasonably well, particularly in undulating country where, although the ridges remain bare the valleys ■are green and on the whole are sufficient to maintain the dairying herds. In less favoured districts, however maize crops and practically all auxiliary feeds have been sacrificed for the cattle, and the repercussions ot this must he felt to a drastic degree next winter. Reports also indicate that permanent stands of, lucerne have weathered the drought well, and have proved an invaluable standby. The middle Rangitaiki Plains has .benefited by some sixteen pumps installed by the Bay of Plenty Power Board for the purpose of farm supply some years ago. Each of these serves approximately a dozen farms, and as a result, although the Raiv gitaiki river is low than it lias ever been known to be before at this time ■of the year the farms concerned have an ample supply of water. The large tract of hill country between Opotiki and Cape Runaway, is practically bare of feed. In most cases., the short river courses have dried up, and sheep and beef cattle are suffering intensely. Production on the whole, has been practically halved, many farmers already having to dry their herds off. On tlie other hand, a surprising feature has been the continuation of a substantial butterfat return from the reduced milk supply. This is explained by one well known farmer by the presence of plenty of water and a certain amount of feed which has a tendency to maintain the cream content. From the manager of the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company’s factory, a company which normally, handles 5000 tons of. butter annually, it is learned that the first serious falling off in supply occurred early in December, and production has been noticeably declining ever since. Butter processed for the month of January to date is 07 tons less 'than- was manufactured for the same period last year. The decline in production must be accelerated from now on though the. season’s output has dropped only from 3013 tons to 2998 tons—a bare 33 tons. This

js in part explained by the inereas-

cd supply from the company’s 700 suppliers in the early part of the season. Since the beginning of January however the. decline has amounted to 5 ton per day, and this amount will increase substantially, so that it is anticipated that the total figures must be affected to the extent of approximately 750 to 1000 tons.

Agriculturists, point out that the coming winter will tell the real tale of the drought, when the already weakened herds will be faced with the rigours of the. cold and the limited feed supply available. Hay will now be at a premium, and it is thought that much will have to be imported from Tarana.w and other southern districts which have not experienced the hardships of the present drought.