STOCK LOSSES FEARED

Southland Times, Issue 24886, 28 October 1942, Page 4

STOCK LOSSES FEARED

Snow In Central Otago

Heavy losses of lambs and shorn sheep are feared by runholders in the St. Bathans district, which is at present blanketed with snow to a depth in excess of anything experienced at this season for many years. Reports state that on high-country sheep stations in this area the fall of snow before the week-end was not less than two feet, while there was a depth of 12 inches on the flat country in the vicinity of Becks and St. Bathans (says The Otago Daily Times). Lambing began on most of the highcountry runs eight to ten days ago. Although it is difficult to forecast with any accuracy the extent to which runholders will suffer, it is not unusual in adverse conditions for the losses in exposed areas to amount to 50 per cent, of the lambs. Experience has shown that snow usually disappears quickly at this time of the year. Up to .Monday, however, the third day on which snow has covered the district, there had Been little sign of a thaw on the flats, while there was apparently no change in the conditions on the high country. In the circumstances runholders and farmers are seriously concerned, and in some quarters at least it is expected that comparatively few lambs, and only a small proportion of the ewes and newly-shorn hoggets, are likely to survive the snowfall. There is one redeeming feature, a runholder commented, and that is that the snow will kill thousands of young rabbits. The possibility of serious floods in the event of a sudden thaw is not overlooked, and settlers have been warned to take suitable precautions against further stock losses on land subject to inundation.