THE DRY SPELL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 4, 12 March 1947, Page 5

THE DRY SPELL

SERIOUS EFFECT ON * PRODUCTION HEAVY FALLING OFF The continued dry spell has heen responsible for a heavy falling off in butterfat production on the Rangitaiki Plains. The effect is ‘patchy’ to use one well known farmer’s expression, but over the whole area there is definitely a sharp deviation from normal production, .and the season is expected to terminate earlier than usual. On the middle plains, farmers state that production has been generally maintained, but nearer Whakatane, and towards the Manawahe hills there has been a drastic falling off. In certain parts it is actually stated that production is less than for the same month last year at ‘the height of the drought.’ This- is explained by those concerned by the fact that the winter was a mild one, with a total absence of drenching drains which usually saturate the ground. The dry season was upon them before the winter moisture had been given a chance to penetrate the subsoil, and as a result the ground dried out very ■quickly, producing a condition in the pastures which is even more acute than under the extremes of last year. Nearer Edgecumbe, on the other hand, where the soil is heavier farmers declare that production figures are approximately double those received last February, though the continuation of the dry spell has led to considerable speculation as to .the autumn butterfat figures. At Onepu, and Te Teko the green grass has practically disappeared, and this condition is common also in parts of Thornton and Awakeri. •Taneatua and Opouriao however are Taring well by comparison. Reports from Galatea and Murupara indi•cate that farmers there, many of them ex-servicemen settlers under the Rehabilitation Service, are finding the position acute. The pumice based farmslands are always a problem in the summer, and production ■can only be maintained during January, February and March with the assistance of a regular and substantial rainfall.