Guardian Farming

An Ashburton Guardian Advertising Feature

Flooding photos ... pages 6, 7

June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010Guardianfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarming

June 2010June 2010June 2010

farmingJune 2010June 2010June 2010


farmingJune 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010June 2010




















































































farmingJune 2010June 2010June 2010Guardian

farmingGuardian

farmingGuardian

farmingGuardian

farmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarminginteresting • informative • essential $2.00

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN_DAIRY SUPPLEMENT APR 2010

ATS—we understand real farmers

You are in ATS country

www.ats.co.nz0800 289 287Call us today

Drying o� ... page 3

Drying o� ...............................................................P3New man on the slink skin run ......................P4Setting salaries .....................................................P5Flooding photos ..............................................P6-7On the Moo-oove Again ...............................P8-9Equine heartburn .......................................P10-11Grazing snippets ...............................................P12Water whisperings ...........................................P13Winchmore update ..........................................P14Preserving productive land ..........................P15Looking after the elderly ...........................16-17ETS – What’s it for? .....................................P18-19Weather by the moon .....................................P20

GUARDIAN FARMING

What’s inside/happening

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June/July 10

Any feedback is welcome, any comments about our magazine, letters or story suggestions.

Please direct any correspondence to: Anna Money, on 307 7936email: [email protected] or to: Lance Isbister, on 307 7953email: [email protected]

or write to PO Box 77, Ashburton. Advertising: Phone 307 7900Email: [email protected] date: June 1, 2010. Next issue: July 6, 2010

An advertising feature for the Ashburton Guardian.Any opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Guardian Farming or the Ashburton Guardian.

GuardianfarmingfarmingfarmingGuardianfarmingGuardianfarmingGuardianfarmingGuardianfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarmingfarminginteresting • informative • essential

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IRRIGATION & DOMESTIC WELLS, AQUIFER TESTING, ELECTRONIC WELL MONITORING, WATER QUALITY TESTING 25 McNally Street, Ashburton 7700. Phone (03) 307-2027

• Design, Sales, Installation and Service South Island Wide

• Zimmatic Centre Pivots including Maxfield Constant Move and Z Corner options

• Zimmatic Lateral Moves including Pivoting and 4 Wheel Options

• Installation of PVC Mainline, Submersible and Turbine Pumps

• Flowmeters and Data Logging solutions

• GPS Mapping

• 24 Hour Call-out Service

0800 ZIMMATIC

GUARDIAN FARMING

William Low has been focused on gaining condition on the 1200 cow dairy farm he works on over the past two months as they approach dry o� .

The Hinds co-manager has recently been drying the herd o� for the season, taking the cows o� the grass to graze on straw, silage and kale.

“The kale really � ts in with our re-grassing programme. We can get a lot of tonnage dry matter o� a smaller area. We aim to dry o� the cows when the pasture cover gets down to 2000kg of dry matter per hectare, which would be a little lower than the typical national standard.”

The farm, which is owned by Mr Low’s father, consists of 390 e� ective hectares and has another run o� block of 200 hectares which is predominantly used to winter the cows and raise young stock.

Mr Low planned to dry o� the � rst mob of 515 cows on May 20 and the second mob of 520 on the following Friday, which was dependent on the weather.However, he said the high input dairy operation was not a typical farm as they feed the cows grain in the milking shed to conserve grass and lengthen the farm round/rotation by feeding the supplements to make up for the short-fall at this time of year.

Before drying o� the herds of

jersey friesian cross cows, they had been transitioning them from their mainly grass diet on to rape for two hours before the afternoon milking.

It was the � rst year they had grown the rape crop, of which they fed a couple of kilograms of dry matter per cow per day as they aimed to get more days in milk from the herd, which Mr Low said seems to increase their production.

He said the dry o� process involves milking the cows twice a day, and three days before they are scheduled to be dried o� , the cows’ grass intake is reduced greatly and replaced with barley straw.

During the last milking the high somatic cell count cows are drafted out and immediately dried o� with a stronger

prescription dry cow drug. Following this the remaining cows will immediately be dried o� with a normal strength dry cow drug.

Mr Low said it had been a great season and the somatic cell count had been excellent.“It’s been a great season all round really, the weather has been really kind.”

Throughout the winter Mr Low and some of the other eight sta� keep an eye on the herd for mastitis and lameness and treat them accordingly. He said throughout winter they aimed to keep a body condition score of 5.5 on the cows while they are on their winter feed and supplements.

When the cows ride round the 60 bale rotary platform one last time for the season they are administered dry cow therapy and drafted o� in to early and late calvers and walked around the road to their winter grazing.

“It gets them doing something completely di� erent and they use a bit of energy walking around,” Mr Low said.

Although he considered drying o� the cows as a balancing act of reducing the cows’ energy intake while limiting their condition score loss, Mr Low was optimistic in preparation for the next season.

25 McNally Street, Ashburton 7700. Phone (03) 307-2027

• Design, Sales, Installation and Service South Island Wide

• Zimmatic Centre Pivots including Maxfield Constant Move and Z Corner options

• Zimmatic Lateral Moves including Pivoting and 4 Wheel Options

• Installation of PVC Mainline, Submersible and Turbine Pumps

• Flowmeters and Data Logging solutions

• GPS Mapping

• 24 Hour Call-out Service

0800 ZIMMATIC

PHOTO LANCE ISBISTER 180510-LI-123

The cows tucking into rape before Hinds dairy farmer William Low dried them off.

Drying o� Lance Isbister, Ashburton Guardian rural reporter

Vince Rietveld 027 296 2346247 Alford Forest RoadAshburtonPh 03 308 3539

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GUARDIAN FARMING

Now more than ever, effi cient irrigation is imperative to the success of your farm, and Ray Mayne Hose and Fittings not only provide exceptional irrigation systems, but their team of professionals provide the best service support possible, and now they have another important new member of their team to provide top notch advice to the continually growing local irrigation community.Ray and the team would like tointroduce Craig Harrison to their busyirrigation family, the sales team now consisting of Ray Mayne himself as owner, Bruce Kell as Irrigation specialist in design and sales, and Craig Harrison to further complement sales.Craig is joining the team as an experienced salesman, and brings with him a wealth of knowledge from the local rural community.Craig is a local lad through and through, being born and bred in

Mid-Canterbury, making Craig’s local passion and experience an asset to the team, and offers reassurance to the local farming community.Craig brings 25 years sales experience from the local stock & station industry. His affi nity with agriculture means that Craig understands the needs of farmers, and can offer the best advice to ensure the farms irrigation requirements are fully met in the most effi cient and cost effective way, maximising water usage potential.Craig and the team understand farming practices, and that a farmers job is never fi nished, which is why Ray Mayne Hose and Fittings are on call 24/7 to assist with any irrigation emergency, and will meet the farmers need whatever time they need it.To fi nd out how Craig, Bruce and Ray can save you more than money, give the team a call today to arrange an on farm consultation.

Our new man is no stranger to your farm

Range Street, Riverside Industrial Park, Ashburton Phone (03) 308 6022

Ray Mayne welcomes Craig Harrison to join the experienced sales team at Ray Mayne Hose and Fittings, now consisting of Ray, Bruce and Craig.

Bruce Kell is Ray Mayne Hose and Fittings specialist

in irrigation design and sales.

Earthmoving contractor Ross Chalmers will be doing the slink skin run for the � rst time this season, taking over from John and Cheryl Lamb.

Mr Chalmers will cover a wide area, which runs from the Rangitata River to the Ashburton River and up to May� eld.

By mid July when the slink run is expected to begin, Mr Chalmers will start to get a feel for the job which involves picking up still-born and newly born dead lambs and calves.

Mr Chalmer’s employer Slinkskins Ltd Ray Watson is con� dent Mr Chalmers can � ll the shoes of John and Cheryl Lamb who have provided the valuable service to Mid Canterbury farmers for more than 12 years.

Mr Chalmers is keen to make this new venture work and should � t timely with his earthmoving business which has a quiet period during the casualty collection months. He is looking forward to giving this collection service to all farmer clients.

When one of his pig hunting mates Hugh Davidson told him of the opportunity to do the run just a month ago, Mr Chalmers knew he already had the gear needed for the job. Mr Chalmers is planning to mount a light crane on the side of his Isuzu truck to make lifting the calves on to the back of the truck easier.

He said there could be a variation on the number of carcasses he picks up on any given day during the run especially if a storm came along.

Mr Chalmers expects August to be the busiest time of the job when he will be � at out seven days a week collecting the dead animals, which will be processed at Slinkskins Ltd plant in Waimate.

PHOTO LANCE ISBISTER 240510-LI-029

ABOVE: Ross Chalmers will soon be pulling into driveways to pick up local farmers’ dead lambs and calves as the new slink skins collector.

New man on the slink skin runLance Isbister, Ashburton Guardian rural reporter

Much has been made of Fonterra’s payout forecast for the 2010/2011 season.

Clearly, this positive increase in cash � ow has the potential to bene� t other parts of the farming sector as the dairy reassesses its supplementary feed requirements.

During the 2007/08 dairy season input prices skyrocketed. Some of this was a case of supply and demand and those commodities quickly devalued as the recession hit.

Others were blatant pro� teering. The individuals and organisations concerned were noted and have, no doubt, regretted the resulting loss of goodwill over the last couple of years.

One input which increased during that period was salaries. Much of this movement was put down to supply and demand, however unlike other inputs salary very rarely decreases when demand drops.

It goes without saying that I caution against a return to ‘cheque book’ recruiting in the future, but the problem for many rural employers is how to set a salary other than asking around and simply paying what others are paying.

The � rst issue I will cover is what is wrong with paying the same as others or ‘meeting the market’.

Many organisations conduct salary surveys in the rural sector. These are statistically useful but in practical terms there is little way of ascertaining where your position � ts amongst the survey respondents.

Another problem with using the average as a starting

point is that this becomes the benchmark. People are not likely to see themselves as being below average employees so expect at least average pay. Therefore the average creeps up for no signi� cant reason.

My preferred method of valuing a position is to start at an hourly rate.

In this way we can compare remuneration across sectors. It also addresses the variation in salaries between seeming similar positions, which may have a di� erence in annual hours of up to 20%.

When valuing a position do include all cash and non cash bene� ts such as accommodation. When o� ering a salary be speci� c about the expected annual hours and what else is included in the package.

If you don’t know how many hours are worked on your farm I suggest you work through the year and estimate the hours worked in each month, you may be surprised how the quieter months counteract the busy times and bring the average weekly hours down.

Having covered the monetary component of the employment I wish to stress the importance of adding value to the employee.

There are always bene� ts other than money which draw an employee to a position.

Identify what these are and work with the employee to get the most out of it for both parties.

Examples may be mentoring so they can advance in your industry, gaining skills and knowledge so they can increase their value to you or other employers, spending more time with family either inside of outside work. These very personal bene� ts are often hard to identify but it is very worth while digging for them.

The best employers know what their sta� are really striving to achieve and do their best to ensure they succeed. Both parties know that the true value of the position far surpasses the � nancial reward.

A happy employee is more productive and will stay longer. Most importantly you will enjoy having them on your team and want them to stay.

GUARDIAN FARMING

Setting salaries

403 West StreetP.O. Box 60Ashburton Phone 03 308 8155Fax 03 308 8155Email [email protected] Free 0800 808 155(A division of North End Engineering and Mechanical Ltd)

For woolsheds, grain sheds, or any type of farm building, see the experts...Micanta Construction offer a range of truly kitset buildings designed with the farmer in mind. You can erect them yourself, or we can erect for you.

Tools required – a level, hammer and spanner - it’s that easy!

If you require a commercial building, see us first, from start to finish we ensure value for money.

Rob Stevenson, Teamwork (SI) Limited

‘’

My preferred method of valuing a

position is to start at an

hourly rate.

The big wet ...

GUARDIAN FARMING

Phone 308 4079

Got a herd to move?CALL RURAL TODAY

The right match of seed to soil

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WE UNDERSTAND THAT NO TWO FARMING OPERATIONS ARE THE SAME.

That’s why we specialise in offering expert advice about the right product for your farm. Talk to us about our extensive range of seeds and find the right match of seed to soil, for ultimate results on your farm.

Derlen Bakery158 Walnut Avenue, Ashburton

Ph (03) 308-3826 www.derlenbakery.co.nz

SHOP HOURSMon - Fri .... 7.30am - 4.30pm

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pheasant or anything you desireturned in to tasty pies from

95c eachWhat better way to feed your hungry family, workers or unexpected

guests whilst saving a few bob in these tough economic times.

Other sizes available – Minimum quantity 5kg

Rainfall last week was well above the Ashburton

district’s average at this time of year. Based on

about 100 years of data, Ashburton gets an aver-age of 63.2mm of rain in

May. Between May 23 and 28, daily rainfall read-

ings from the Metservice’s Ashburton station at the aerodrome added up to

134.2mm, Metservice consultant meteorolo-

gist Ross Marsden said. Mr Marsden said rainfall is highly variable in most

places and Ashburton’s range is from 7.7mm in

1999 to 248.2mm in 1959. Photographer SARAH

CHAMBERLAIN visited some farms around the

district in the rain on Wednesday.

260510-SC-028

Motorists slow for stock in the wet weather.

A break in the rain on Wednesday last week.

260510-SC-042

GUARDIAN FARMING

Phone 308 4079

Got a herd to move?CALL RURAL TODAY

BELOW: Farmer Chris Allen takes a look at the fl ooded

Taylors Stream.

RIGHT: A bank erodes under the pressure of much water.

260510-SC-025

Greenstreet farmer Dave Wyllie and dog Gay.RIGHT: Stock huddle together on higher land.

260510-SC-111

Chris Allen sees the funny side to copious amounts of rain.

260510-SC-045

Farmers throughout the district have been affected by fl ooding on their land.

260510-SC-089

260510-SC-062

260510-SC-056

GUARDIAN FARMING

*Some conditions may apply

Cnr East Street and Walnut Avenue, Ashburton.Phone 307-5830 or 308-9928 anytime. www.ashburton.toyota.co.nz

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Toyota Hilux 20053.0, D/Cab, Diesel, Manual,72,300km

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Nissan Navara STX 20072.5, 4WD, Diesel, Manual,83,000km

Toyota Caldina Z 20042.0, Auto, 66,100km

Nissan Navara STX 20072.5, Manual, Diesel, 92,500km

Honda CRV Sport 20072.4, 4WD, Petrol, Auto,80,000km

Toyota Camry Sportivo 20092.4, Auto, 99km

Toyota Altezza RS 20032.0, Auto, 65,854km

Toyota Vitz Euro Sport 20001.3, Auto, 69,482km

Toyota Corolla RunX 20041.5, Auto, 21,700km

Toyota Hilux 20073.0, D/Cab, 4WD, Diesel,104,000km


Toyota Hilux Surf SSRX 19933.0, Auto, Diesel, 127,360km

Toyota Rav 4 Limited 20072.4, 4WD, Petrol, Auto,39,555km

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As the pendulum of dairy farming popularity again swings toward further expansion within Ashburton district, I believe it’s time to take a good hard look at the future of agriculture in the district.

Indications from building permit applications, stock transport bookings, Federated Farmers and other reliable sources give credence to rumours that the district will be home to a further 8–10,000 cows next season. With talk of an $8 a kilogram payout, little wonder!

While this level of activity will no doubt be welcomed by the building and construction industries, and through added employment opportunities the district as a whole will bene� t, the long term implications are not all positive.

Reliable information tells us that currently 25% of all irrigated land (excluding the high country) is taken up by dairy farms. An equivalent area is utilised for seasonal dairy support. A tolerable and sustainable balance.

At a time when the price of feed grain in “real” terms is at a 15-year low, it is easy to understand why many farmers are seeking the dairy option to maintain viability. The ready availability of imported palm kernel has impacted negatively on the value of feed grain in recent years to a point where pro� tability, even with good yields is questionable.

The impositions of the Emissions Trading Scheme (EMS) on July 1 can only further compromise that viability.

Economically, the importation of palm kernel is a viable feed supplement. However, biosecurity risks around its entry to New Zealand are signi� cant. With foot and mouth and other endemic diseases present in Indonesia and other countries of origin the dangers are very real. With hundreds of thousands of tonnes of this material entering via our ports annually our major export industry needs utmost protection.

By adoption of a medium term approach to what I now believe to be the probable outcomes of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS), I’m optimistic that in

10–20 years time real progress will have been made to better utilise our abundant water resources for total community bene� t.

Environment Minister Nick Smith, speaking at a local government meeting I attended in Dunedin earlier this month clearly outlined government support for a collaborative Regional approach to water enhancement in the Canterbury region.

His statement, “water development to Canterbury is as important as transport development to Auckland” was music to my ears. An unquali� ed endorsement of CWMS and comparison with the non-collaboration of existing Auckland Territorial Authorities that has forced the super-city issue was a telling endorsement.

Smith’s added comment that “Water to New Zealand could be what oil is to Saudi Arabia” further emphasised the level of government thinking.

Currently, we know what 32% of the nation’s water is used for. The Minister intends to promote water metering till we get to a level of at least 98%. Canterbury–wide we must look at multi-use targets to gain full government support. Medium term this is achievable in Canterbury.

I’ve always held the view that Ashburton district has the capability to massively increase farm production across all ranges of products with e� cient water use. The range and use of soil types together with proven productivity gains over the last decade are testament to farmer’s innovation.

On the Moo-oove Again

Land cleared of rain forest for a palm-oil plantation. There are biosecurity risks involved with the importation of palm kernel.

While dairy production in currently the most productive use on many of the range of soil types in Ashburton district, this surely will not always be the case.

It is my hope that the district will continue to produce and increase the full range of agricultural products that have made this district the food bowl of New Zealand for generations.

One of the downsides of rapid dairy expansion has been the growth of corporate and absentee ownership of farms. While it is impressive that Ashburton boasts the largest average herd size of any region in the country, I’ve always preferred e� ciency over scale of operation.

I acknowledge that the Crafar example is extreme, but the greater the gap between ownership and day to day operation, the greater the risk of bad practice. There’s even some local con� rmation of this point.

In an article in this publication at the peak of dairy prices in 2008, I made a plea for farmers to address three major issues.

The ongoing issues of � nancial equity, poor wages and working conditions and, particularly, the negatives of poor e� uent disposal all remain hindrances to public acceptance of dairying.

On too many farms little progress has been made.History indicates that farming pro� tability is cyclical and � uctuates between products.

I’ve seen the day of pound per pound for wool and averaged $1000 a bale in 1986. Potatoes, deer products, cropping, black currants, clover and other small seeds, even lamb prices, have all had price levels that were highly sustainable over my 50-year active involvement in farming. I’m certain that with technological advancement these days will return. Not so sure about wool though!

As demand for red meat increases around the world (particularly Asia), intensive fat lamb farming with 200% lambing and high growth rates will make a return. Currently $140/22kg lamb is not far away.

Dairying is eminently suitable on e� ciently irrigated lighter stony soil types around the district, with few problems using modern e� uent disposal systems. It would be a great pity if our less water

demanding heavier soils were converted from cropping and small seeds. Agriculture production needs that diversity.

Additionally, lessons from the past clearly show the value of shelter trees, a point seemingly lost on many dairy farms.

The thought of “cubicle” dairy farming in the Mackenzie Basin holds little appeal.

I’ve visited housed dairy cattle in Denmark and have been most impressed with what I’ve seen. Small family sized units of 50–80 large Danish Red beasts – free ranging in a barn situation, only outside for a few hours a day for � ve months of the year.When I visited, they had not been outside for six months, seemed very content and were producing high yields of milk.

E� uent and straw bedding was bunkered daily, the resulting biogas the only fuel for heating and cooking in the adjacent homestead.

E� uent spreading was allowed only over a three-month period and subject to heavily controlled and government-monitored conditions

With snow on the ground for three months of the year the need for housing was obvious and the results impressive.

This was not New Zealand. Farms did not have 7000 cows to house. Again, e� ciency rather than scale.

The cumulative e� ects of e� uent disposal in an area, by its very name described as a Basin, leaves me cold. Yes, we do need increased farm production.

E� cient water use and farming practices can further enhance diversity. Adoption of modern scienti� c and technological knowledge is imperative.

Ashburton district has the water, soils, knowledge and skills to make it happen.

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Heart burnYes, horses su� er from stomach ulcers (known medically as EGUS – equine gastric ulcer syndrome).

In the past decade, studies have shown a prevalence of 60–90 % of horses. Stomach ulcers can have a huge impact on condition and performance. Once thought of a “racing thoroughbred” problem related to “stressful” conditions new research has shown the problem as being more widespread.

Studies have found a high incidence in horses that are transported, stalled in unfamiliar surroundings and engaged in light exercise typical at show and even for pastured thoroughbred broodmares.

Studies have illustrated ulcers in endurance horses, three-day eventers, dressage and show horses. A very low incidence occurs in horses used predominately in their home environment. Stomach ulcers are usually divided into two groups – foals and mature horses (yearlings and older).

In foals, the e� ects of stomach ulcers may range from subclinical (slow growth rates, failure to thrive) to clinical (diarrhea, colic, poor hair coats, poor growth, pot bellied

appearance, crib-biting, grinding teeth, poor suckling). Clinical signs in yearlings and older horses can be varied and range from acute and recurrent colic, attitude changes (unsettled, unwilling to work, sour disposition), appetite changes (avoiding hard feed, preferring hay; poor appetites), crib-biting or biting soil in the yard, grinding teeth, poor coats, poor condition, and poor performance.

Many adult horses with gastric ulcers will show no signs. Recent work suggests that crib-biting and wind-sucking may be attempts by the horse to stimulate saliva production to neutralise stomach acid.

In foals, the highest risk is from two days to eight weeks old and occurs most frequently in foals with diarrhea or recovering from illness or injury.

Studies have illustrated a large rise in gastric acid pH in foals that remain recumbent (lying down) and do not suck for more than two hours. In older horses, predisposing factors leading to EGUS include a high concentrate diet, fasting, intense exercise, limited access to roughage, pain, racing, stall con� nement, stress and travelling.

Diet has a large in� uence. It is known that the high calcium and protein content of lucerne (alfalfa) hay may protect the stomach lining from acid damage. In horses on pasture, grass forms a thick mucous-rich mat of ingested feed on the surface of the stomach � uid protecting the sensitive squamous lining of the upper region of the stomach. In contrast, a diet consisting of high concentrates (grains) produces a toxic amount of volatile fatty acids, produced as byproducts of bacterial fermentation of the carbohydrates in these grains, and damaging the stomach lining.

For stabled or transported horses on only two feeds a day, the stomach is left for long periods without ingestion of feed and without this protective mat of ingesta (grass and hay) on top of the stomach � uid.

Racing or intense exercise may further risk exposure to acid due to abdominal pressure reducing the stomach volume to half of resting levels, re� ux of duodenal and bile acids from the small intestine, and splashing of gastric � uid into the upper squamous region of the stomach where it attacks the stomach lining.

Combine periods of intense exercise (racing, endurance, three-day eventing)

with long periods of travelling or standing/con� nement in stalls without ingestion of feed and you have the ideal recipe for EGUS. Summarising, the two major causes of gastric ulceration are: • a reduced ability of the stomach to defend itself against gastric acid and digestive enzymes, and • prolonged exposure of the stomach to high acid levels. The harm from stomach ulcers can be varied and depend much on the horse. Some horses tolerate ulcers better than others and show no clinical signs. Pain and discomfort of stomach ulcers may in� uence a horse’s temperament, eating behaviours and well-being. Haemorrhage from ulcers can cause anaemia and poor energy and performance. In the worst case scenario, perforation of the stomach can occur which is usually fatal. The goals of ulcer treatment are to eliminate clinical signs, promote ulcer healing, prevent ulcer recurrence, prevent complications, minimise the cost and duration of treatment and maximise healing and prevention. Pasture turn-out may not be enough to heal gastric ulcers. In one study 45% of a� ected thoroughbreds turned out for six weeks of pasture with no forced exercise

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did not recover. Other studies illustrate recurrence once back in training. Diet and dietary/feeding management have to be closely managed in performance horses. Horses need to be fed � bre rich diets high in digestible energy. Extra energy requirements for the rigours of racing or high performance using concentrates have to be managed carefully. Oils (� ax seed) may be used to supplement energy requirements. Probiotics may help to promote friendly bacterial fermentation. Previously, attempts to use human drugs to treat equine stomach ulcers meant trying to neutralise (antacids) or decrease the secretion of acid in the stomach (histamine H2 receptor antagonists such as ranitidine and cimetidine). Both of these regimes had only mixed results.

The most recent development of therapeutic agents for the treatment, management and prevention of equine stomach ulcers is omeprazole. It is beyond the scope of this article to describe the method of action of omeprazole except to describe it as a potent inhibitor of gastric acid secretion (suppresses acid activity for up to 24 hours) thereby promoting an environment in the equine stomach that is conducive to healing. Since omeprazole is unstable in the acid environment of the stomach, most products on the market have developed an encapsulated formula

that allows the paste to pass through the stomach into the intestine where it dissolves, is absorbed and then acts on the (proton) pump that produces the acid. Numerous products are on the market including Gastrozol, Alphavet Equine Ulcer Paste and Omoguard. Ask your equine veterinarian which product is right for your horse since they di� er in concentration of drug, dose levels (i.e. - for treatment or prevention) and, of course, price. The most di� cult part is knowing whether your horse has stomach ulcers. Very few equine veterinarians have the specialised three-metre � broendoscope required to reach and visualise the stomach. Many veterinarians utilise trial therapy on omeprazole to allow di� erential diagnosis of EGUS. Often only a few days on treatment illustrates improvement in pain, discomfort and appetite. Think your horse has heart burn? – talk to your local equine veterinarian.

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RIGHT: Performing a gastroscopy using a video endoscope.

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Winter dairy cows

• With the good weather we are currently enjoying don’t assume that nitrate levels are ok. Regularly check over the next month. Recent tests have shown nitrate levels on some paddocks to be acceptable while others are “too hot to trot”.• Very importantly make sure cows have 1½ -2 hours on straw and baleage before they are o� ered green feed. Don’t shift the fence on the green feed and hope that they will eat the straw � rst, there will be a percentage of each mob that will go to the green feed, and these are the girls that will su� er from nitrate poisoning if nitrate levels are marginal. • Make sure you have adequate voltage going through your electric fencing system. While introducing cows to green feed crops low voltage can result in break outs and damage to large areas of crop. • Try to keep water availability close to the area the cows are grazing to avoid over compaction through trampling especially on arable farms. It is very simple to put a small pump down the well and pressurise the main line for portable troughs and this will save a lot of problems with cultivation after grazing. Handling facilitiesA number of handling facilities such as yards are leaving

the farm owner vulnerable to an OSH investigation should there be an accident when anybody is using the facilities. So, as far as OSH is concerned the facilities are on your farm and, whether you are present or not when a stock owner or his employees are using the yards for treating cows, heifers or other stock, if they have the misfortune to have an accident causing injury it is the land owner whom OSH will � ne or prosecute if necessary. Main faults are rotten timber and posts, gates not hung properly, gates that can crush a person if stock push back, deep mud which makes it impossible to get out of the way of animals under pressure, but the worse one has to

be walkways. Often these are narrow, they are slippery and are of rotten boards.

All stockEnsure that trace element levels are checked and maintained from now on. Any animal going on to green feed crops need extra supplementation of selenium and copper. Animals can deplete their body reserves at this time of the year very quickly so a close eye needs to be maintained on the animals to ensure that there is no sudden weight loss due to trace element de� ciencies.

Smash conferenceA couple of months back I mentioned of a conference for small dairy herd owners (up to 300 cows) at Shantytown on the 10th of June. The emphasis is on techniques for the

small herd operators to be more e� cient in the cowshed and get more enjoyment from life. Speakers include Darold Klindworth from Australian Primary Industries (the guru of cowshed e� ciency) and Mandy McLeod, a Nu� eld Scholar. Also farmer participation in workshops. Starts at 10am - � nishes at 5pm. Details in farming magazines or from Graz4u Ltd. A number of dairy farmers milking smaller herds do not consider they or their votes are important in this age of large herds. Go to the conference and you will hear that all sizes are important in YOUR Industry.

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The Indian summer did continue, although, the last week or so has been pretty gloomy, wet and threatening winter. Certainly, the middle of the month has lived up to it being the � fth month of the year being wet, colder and growth slowing. But, where are we placed for the next irrigation season that looms - potentially just three months away?

While I am sure you have all enjoyed the spring-like conditions of the end of April and the � rst two weeks of May, it is not the Northern Hemisphere. While we may have had growth, day length and weather reminiscent of early spring, one has to pinch oneself to remind us that we heading toward winter and not vice versa. The crop water use and requirement for irrigation was not at all unlike early spring – all that was missing was the spring crops leaping out of the ground and threatening “irrigate me soon”. Fortunately, it was only pasture and some forage crops that we needing irrigation and then not all that much. It was unfortunate to drive about and observe irrigators still going in the second week of May, knowing that the paddock being irrigated had been so within the last week or ten days. Water use had decreased to about 0.5mm/day – yes, half a mm per day. So, for those that thought sunny days, 15-20°C with a little North West was a recipe for another irrigation within 7-10 days – wrong. Should have pocketed the dollars spent irrigating again in May.

Nonetheless, those that did overindulge will have provided groundwater recharge that has thus far been absent. Arti� cial recharge – doesn’t really matter where the recharge comes from, it all helps the neighbours down gradient. That the dry and warm conditions persisted into April and May and irrigation was needed, does not augur well for the groundwater system and next irrigation season.

Irrigation has a net e� ect of removing water 1. from groundwater storage, some of which would have been around for the next irrigation season. So a long irrigation season has an e� ect on the availability or otherwise of water for the 2010-11 season.May is now the � fth month in a row of below 2. average rainfall and signi� cantly below average rainfall. If you keep a rainfall record you know that and of course if you are an irrigating farmer you also know that otherwise you would not have had to irrigate. However, below average rainfall means NO RECHARGE from dryland or irrigated land to the groundwater system.

The dryland soil moisture de� cit is quite large (100mm+ on the better soils) and thus far there has been insu� cient rainfall for to re� ll this de� cit. Consequently, no contribution from dryland to groundwater recharge. There has also been insu� cient rainfall for any signi� cant additional recharge from irrigated land – rainfall has just been su� cient to halt irrigation for short periods of time.

What is 3. signi� cant, and of concern for groundwater storage, is the absence of any evidence of recharge. While the water level from the ECan observation bore above is not as low as it has been at this time in previous seasons, the level has declined ever since October 2009 and was still falling at the latest measurement on May 12. Even in recent dry

seasons (like 2005-6 and 2007-8) and other previous seasons, there had been and was recharge by March or April – not so this year.

While K37/0398 is a 4. shallow observation bore, there is a signi� cant amount of recharge required to get back close to the maximum-recorded water levels. Nearly 4m of recovery is needed before the water level is back at a level one would be comfortable at going into the next irrigation season. It will take a record (or nearly so) monthly rainfall, like we had in May 2009, to get water levels back up to that comfort level. We are more than halfway through May with little prospect of signi� cant (80-100mm) in the next week or so.

Moreover, being in the 5. last half of May we are only three months from perhaps wanting to start abstracting

for irrigation again.

So what to do? I guess just keep it in the back of your mind that reliability might be an issue for next season. Let’s hope it rains and rains plenty in June and July. On the other hand, do you know of a good and successful rain dancer?

Water whisperingsTony Davoren, Hydroservices

8

7

6

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4

3

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2 Jul 01 2 Jul 02 2 Jul 03 2 Jul 04 2 Jul 05 2 Jul 06 2 Jul 07 2 Jul 08 2 Jul 09 2 Jul 10

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Observation Bore K37/0398

Depth toWater Maximum Recorded


So far so good, we have had only eight frosts to date this month. The frosts during the � rst week of May dropped the soil temperature right down to 7.1°C. This last week has seen it lift and remain at 10–11°C, which is great combined with the steady rain we have experienced.

It should certainly give us some extra growth to go into the winter with which we will most certainly need.

My youngest daughter is coming back from the UK next month to live back here in New Zealand, but she is having two weeks in Hawaii on the way to make sure she gets some sunshine because they haven’t had much over there to date. Her phone calls are generally in regard to number of “shorts and T-shirt” days I have had for the month.

Not many from now on, for the next three or four months I would guess.

Next week is our annual stock count, the day when numbers on the ground have to match the numbers on the computer.

Should be easy but sometimes it’s not, depending on accuracy of entering sales or deaths correctly in the book.

Two years ago, I counted the stock I had grazing at the Lincoln Research Farm because Winchmore owned them and the manager there counted them as well.

Well, that should have been easy to sort out but wasn’t, an explanatory email didn’t solve the problem. Emails are

fast but a whole lot of them to answer takes a lot of time.

The best part of the stock count this year will be the fact that science will have removed the rams from their 15 little mobs and they can be all counted in one mob. Fortunately, last year we were able to drive along the lanes and count the little mobs over the fence, this year would not have been as easy due to some bigger paddocks and some larger mobs.

The eight ha of maize was harvested and worked out at 19 tonne/ha which was one tonne/ha better than my budget but one tonne/ha behind what I was hoping

it would do. Still, I learnt a few more management techniques this season and have some ideas on how to improve next year’s maize yield.

The kale crops are still growing and I have ideas on how to grow them even better next season as well.

Work on the farm at the moment is consisting of checking all the electric fences in preparation for the winter grazers coming on soon and also checking the portable troughs and the connections they will be plugged into. At the moment, most of the fences are all testing out at between 6.5 and 7.9kv, which is good. We have removed quite a number of fences to make a lot of the paddocks bigger and easier to work and reduced the risk of electric wires shorting out.

With extra numbers of cows coming this year and most mobs split into more manageable mob sizes I want to be sure that

we have enough troughs � tted with full � ow � ttings to keep up with the water demand and to make sure that every paddock has a reliable water � ow and connection � tting at the � rst gate.

In the o� ce, there are new � nancial budgets, Health and Safety audits, workplace inspections and farm audits to prepare for and with a new Health and Safety person on board at Lincoln, it involves quite a bit of time to show them the systems we have in place and the procedures we follow, etc. but it’s good to have a reason to be inside on a wet day.

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Much time is taken up with offi ce work – but it’s good to have a reason to be inside on a wet day.

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The Ashburton District Council’s proposed district plan is certainly getting people talking – and that’s a good thing.

Too often, the general public is apathetic when it comes to local government planning and processes and, yet, many of these decisions can have a direct impact on our day to day lives.

If people do not have a say and sit back and do nothing, then they get what they deserve. But if they decide to take the time to fully understand the issues being presented and provide knowledgeable feedback in the form of written and verbal submissions, then they can help shape and drive the best outcomes for themselves and their community.

Consultation is an instrumental part of the local government process, but it is a two way thing. Once information, such as the proposed district plan, is put in the public arena by the council, it then becomes our responsibility to reply and have our say.

The Ashburton District Council is required, under the Resource Management Act, to review its district plan every 10 years. It also needs to review the plan to make sure it is current and responsive to changing needs and pressures within the district.

Submissions on the proposed plan close shortly and it’s likely there will be a number of submissions relating to changes to rural zone rules – the most contentious of these has been the minimum size a site needs to be for a dwelling.

The Ashburton District Council summary of the proposed district plans says: “it is proposed to only allow a dwelling (without resource consent) on a site of eight hectares or more it the Rural A zone and a site of 50 hectares or more in the Rural B and C zones”. A 12-month window of opportunity to build on existing two to eight hectare blocks within the Rural A zone has been proposed while in the Rural B zone “landowners will be able to develop a dwelling on a site of four hectares or more if the parcel of land was created after January 1, 2000.”

Meanwhile some zone changes are also proposed, which will see some currently Rural A zoned areas become Rural B - Rural B zoning covers the majority of farming land in the district, excluding the areas surrounding towns and settlements and high country areas.

This has been done to reduce “opportunities for the subdivision of large parcels of land and protects the productive use of the land for existing and future agricultural activities as well as retaining the rural character of these areas”.

I agree with this sentiment and believe we have a responsibility to preserve and maintain our productive agricultural and horticultural land. Whether the Ashburton District Council has got the formula right or not remains to be seen, but protecting our farming land is important to this district, regardless of where we live. We are all aware of the importance farming and its associated industries have on our economy and our social infrastructure. Agriculture has always been the lifeblood of this district and its relevance needs to be considered when our councillors and planners put forward a document as important as our district plan.

The debate currently being carried out surrounding building on Rural A zone blocks may have overshadowed the fact the proposed district plan also addresses many other issues – not just those directly a� ecting rural areas.

Residential planning and zoning is also facing changes,

most notably the introduction of the Residential A zone which could provide for apartment style living in central Ashburton. Subdivision rules, business zoning, signage in business zones, open space zoning, heritage values and protected trees, and new rules for relocated buildings are also subject to proposed changes.

Some of these changes have been suggested to help develop the infrastructure needed to grow and encourage new business in the future, while also maintaining and supporting our important industrial and commercial activities.

Submissions are not limited to objections - they can also be supportive of changes outlined in the proposed plan. Not all change is bad, and many of the decisions made by our local councils in the past have been successful and for the good of the district. The foresight of those who established the Ashburton Domain is one such example.

It is not an easy mix to sort out and there will inevitably be some who will be adversely a� ected by change. But to what extent will largely be determined by the level of input and discussion generated through this consultation process.

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“When I’m 64 ... ”“will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64”.

Great old song that we all know and sing along to. It’s a bit of fun and we love it. But it also has a serious side; an underlying message that we all relate to. That nagging fear of what’s going to happen when we get old?

Will we manage to have a good retirement? Who’s going to look after me when I can no longer look after myself?

We may try to put it o� , but at some point we all have to think about it, whether it’s our own future or that of our ageing relatives.

Over recent times the newspapers have reported shocking incidents of elder abuse, reductions in homecare services, shortages of suitable housing for the elderly, impacts of the budget on people with � xed incomes and so on.

It has been said that a society can be judged by the way it looks after its elderly; the respect it shows for their contribution over their lifetime, respect for their knowledge and experience, and respect in the way we care for them when they cannot do so themselves.

Currently there is a parliamentary investigation in conjunction with Grey Power into the provision and quality of aged care in New Zealand.

This is something that should interest us all and in which we should all participate.

After all it a� ects not only those who currently use aged care services, but it should also ensure the services are well

suited for future users.

The investigation’s discussion paper raises a number of questions communities are asked to consider and provide feedback on at a series of workshops being held throughout New Zealand.

There is one such seminar to be held in Christchurch on June 9, at 2pm at Grey Power in the Methodist Mission building at 309 Durham Street, Christchurch.

Some of the questions to be considered include:

“What changes are needed to improve the quality of care?”“What pressures are facing the rest home work force?”“Is there evidence of signi� cant neglect or inadequate care in the aged care sector?”

These are all important questions and obtaining grassroots feedback is essential to ensuring services provided meet the needs of those who will be using those services.

Equally important is the need to ensure equity in the way services are provided throughout New Zealand, so that no matter where you live, you can be assured of the same

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level and quality of service. Rural Women New Zealand, through its home care company, Access, is in an excellent position to have a national perspective of aged care services and particularly the issues facing rural people and communities.

As such, we have questions that we will be raising for the investigation panel to consider.

We want to know why there are increasing di� erences in eligibility for aged care depending on where you live in New Zealand.

One of the key problems, we understand, is that funding for aged care services is not “ring fenced”.

This means that although the Government may provide the funding to District Health Board’s, without ring fencing the DHB can divert that funding to areas it sees as having greater priority or need.

This is creating di� erences due to the way each DHB develops their strategies for provision of aged care services.

Rural Women NZ believe that the eligibility criteria, entitlements to hours of support, level and quality of services should be the same, no matter where you live in New Zealand.

Another critical issue is that the Government has not completed the implementation of the promised ‘fair travel’ payments to home support carers so as to ensure services in the rural sector are not compromised due to the cost of travel for a carer to reach a client.

There is much research internationally which shows that the health and wellbeing outcomes for people are far

better when they are supported and able to remain in their own homes. Our Government says they agree with this philosophy and yet the funding provided, both in terms of the amount and the way it is administered, is inadequate.

Rural Women NZ representatives will be attending many of the planned seminars around New Zealand and raising these concerns.

We believe it is important to ensure that the investigation panel are made aware of the particular issues facing rural

communities, to ensure that all people have fair and equal access to aged care services.

I encourage you to participate too to ensure that not only are our elderly relatives appropriately cared for now, but that services continue to be available into the future.

After all, as I said at the beginning, a society can be judged by the way it cares for its elderly.

How do you want to be judged?

GUARDIAN FARMING

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Among questions we need to address are whether we will manage to have a good retirement and who will look after us when we can no longer look after ourselves.

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ETS – What’s it for?Scienti� c consensus is now for confusion.

In a recently released Geological Society of America abstract, Dr. Don Easterbrook, Professor of Geology at Western Washington University, presented data showing that the global warming blip from 1977 to 1998 is over and we have entered into global cooling that should last for the next thirty years.

He also suggests that since IPCC climate models are now so far o� from what is actually happening, their projections for both this decade and century must be considered highly unreliable.

David Douglass and John Christy, in a paper now available on the internet, conclude that natural changes in water temperature are responsible for increases in global temperature, and El Nino and La Nina have a more signi� cant e� ect on global temperature than carbon dioxide.

At NASA, Dr. Roy Spencer believes natural cycles account for most of last century’s slight warming, with carbon dioxide increases contributing only a modest amount.

His new research, submitted to Geophysical Research Letters, shows that climate models are � awed because they are only programmed to look for positive feedback from an increase in carbon dioxide, in other words warming evidence, and therefore will � nd some,

so are programmed to overstate or even invent warming. Two new studies printed in Science Magazine point to wind-induced circulation changes in the ocean as the dominant cause of recent ice losses through glaciers draining both the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, not global warming.

In June, Dr. David Evans, an architect of Australia’s Kyoto compliance, and for years a noted climate change alarmist, became

the latest man-made global warming doubter.

Evans outlines the four main reasons why he recently jumped o� the global warming bandwagon.

1.The missing “greenhouse signature”, which would be a hot zone about 10 km up in the atmosphere is simply not there. It is statistically impossible that hundreds of tests missed the spot. The existing models

on greenhouse warming do not work without this hot zone.

2. There is no evidence to support the idea that carbon emissions cause signi� cant global warming. None. There is plenty of evidence that global warming has occurred in various places at various times in our recorded history, but no observations constituting evidence that carbon emissions drive warming trends.

3. Satellites measuring the world’s temperature uniformly show that any tiny warming trend (less than 1C over a century) stopped in 2001 and that in the past year the temperature actually returned to 1980 levels. Satellite measurements are the only truly reliable method for capturing the data as land-based measurements are vulnerable to encroachments of expanding cities and “urban heat island e� ect.” NZ scientists’ global warming hype was apparently based on data from only 7 station-locations.

4.The new ice cores show that in the past six global warmings over the past half a million years, the temperature rises occurred on average 800 years before the accompanying rise in atmospheric carbon. This says something important about which was cause and which was e� ect.Hundreds of environmental studies now conclude that the behavior of man is not the cause of global warming, and it matters not if we ride bikes or SUVs,

WMS-RPNZProd&SerFlyerAug09_p 04/09/2009 9:27 AM Page 1

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the planet will not burn to a cinder as a result of our slowness to embrace green policies. The inactive sunspot cycle and the devastatingly cold northern hemisphere winter, during which the Copenhagen global warming conference struggled to remain relevant, plus Climategate saw the public tide turn.

Sceptics now outnumber believers, although you would not know this from the NZ media who don’t, it seems, read the internet, and there is still endless money to be made from alarmism. Take the recent Iceland volcano. At � rst declared an environmental disaster because planes were grounded, this shifted quickly to conjecture about longterm planet damage. Apparently not relevant or worth mentioning was the fact that volcanoes are just a fact of life in Iceland, which is how the land arrived there in the � rst place, tectonically jumping out of the sea as did NZ.

Moreover, Eyja� allajokull often erupts. It last did so in 1821 and then kept � ring ash into the atmsophere nonstop for 14 months. Over the intervening 180 years between then and now the climate in Iceland did not change and wasn’t about to change this time either just because of a new thin layer of ash cloud. A cloud can shield the sun and cause cooling, but can also prevent heat rising from the ground escaping into the atmosphere, creating a warming counterbalance, with a net result that nothing has changed. That is science, versus fear which is not.

So where does that leave climate science? Even if it was happening there would be nothing to fear from global warming, especially the country neighboring the coldest of the two Poles. Cold kills more than warmth. Several periods in ancient times were warmer. CO2 is essential to life. Climate science is computer-model-projection-based and does not deal with evidence so

is not a science. Antarctica ice is thickening. The Paci� c sealevel is dropping. Several glaciers are advancing. The polar bear population is increasing not dwindling. Global temperatures continue to cool and research against man-made global warming continues to pile up and any proposed cause of global climate change should be based on facts and evidence and not just our fear, yet the facts seem to be missing.

But because we have a government that seems intent on courting and satisfying the whims of all opposition parties, it’s looking increasingly like the ETS is less about satisfying our trading partners and more about how to win the next election.

Government spending is still at an all-time high. The costs alone of implementing the ETS have been estimated at over 1.5 billion dollars, which includes a forestry deal for 5 iwi.

The increase in GST is expected to raise around $1.59 billion, which means if we scrapped the ETS there would be no need to increase GST.

Perhaps it is a time for farmers to get more political as when they achieved the scrapping of the farcical Fart Tax. Otherwise, because of the still green-dominated political agenda, many may be unable to meet ETS obligations.

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– With HT license and experienced. – Applicants with many years experience in keeping commercial bees.

– Qualified people looking for permanent positions. Variety of skills.

– 5 years plus in pig farming, with animal science or veterinary degrees. – Qualified applicants with experience in all aspects of

poultry production. – Experienced truck and agricultural equipment drivers with equivalent to

Class 5 HT licenses. – A variety of trade’s people with skills ranging from electricians,

mechanics to welders.

If you are looking for skilled staff, PROVIDING SKILLED MIGRANTS TO NZ EMPLOYERS

Immigration Placement Services [email protected] – www.immigratenz.co.nz


Mid Canterbury, Rakaia to Rangitata. Outlook period: June 1-30

Summary, outlook periodNumber of rain days: About 4-6Likely precipitation times: June 4, 7, 8, 17-20, 22, 24Mostly dry: June 1-4, 9-16Wettest period: June 8, 17-24Warmest maximum temperatures: June 15

Coolest maximum temperatures: June 30Warmest minimums: June 14Coldest minimums: June 10-12, 30Sunniest days: June 1-4Cloudiest period: June 12-26Best days for outdoor recreation: June 9-15Estimated precipitation for Ashburton: 40mmRakaia: 42mmMethven: 43mmRanfurly 20mm

Estimated sunshine amount for Ashburton: 97hours (June average 119 hours)

General (allow 24-hour error)

June could be a cold month

but fairly dry. Average for monthly maximums

may be around 7-10C and for

minimums around -3 to

2C. Snow in the South Island is expected around 1st

-2nd, 4th - 8th, 16th -19th, 23rd -30th.

Weather By The Moon: June Forecast

SOUTH CANTERBURY, RAKAIA TO RANGITATA OUTLOOK PERIOD: 1 JUNE– 30 JUNE WEATHER BY THE MOON

from Ken Ring www.predictweather.com(Allow 24 hour error)

Summary, outlook period Number of precipitation days: about 4-6. Likely precipitation times: 4th, 7th, 8th, 17th-20th, 22nd, 24th

Mostly dry: 1st-4th, 9th-16th

Wettest periods: 8th, 17th-24th Warmest maximum temperatures: 15th

Coolest maximum temperatures: 30th Warmest minimums: 14th Coldest minimums: 10th-12th, 30th Sunniest days: 1st-4th Best days for outdoor recreation: 9th-15th Cloudiest: 12th-26th

Estimated precipitation for Rakaia: 42mm, Ashburton: 40mm, Methven: 43mm, Ranfurly: 20mm. Estimated sunshine amount for Ashburton: 97hrs (June average 119hrs)

General June could be a cold month but fairly dry. Average for monthly maximums may be around 7-10C and for minimums around -3 to 2C. Snow in the South island is expected around 1st -2nd, 4th-8th,16th-19th, 23rd-30th,

Ashburton at a glance Estimated rain timing

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Guardian Farming

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