Farmers and orchardists are keeping tabs on the cold across New Zealand, hoping to keep lambs safe and fruit protected.
This week large parts of the country was covered in snow.
Lochie McNally, a stone fruit grower from central Otago, said apricots were at a growth stage where young green fruit were exposed to the elements. The cold snap could lead to complete fruit loss or damage.
Damaged fruit could be low quality and would not be suitable for export markets, McNally said.
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His orchards used overhead water sprays to provide frost protection.
But it was too early to check for fruit damage and that would have to happen once conditions improved.
MetService said cold conditions could cause stress for livestock in Southland, Otago, Wellington, and areas around the Desert Rd.
Southland sheep farmer Hayden Peter said it was unfortunate that this weather struck during lambing.
He was lucky that his ewes had been lambing for a month and the lambs were already somewhat grown.
He had sufficient shelter belts on the farm that protected lambs from the cold, he said.
The snow in itself was not a big concern, but the wind chill factor was a threat to lambs, Peter said.
Peter said farmers without enough shelter would be taking lambs to sheds or using blankets to protect them from cold.
Southland high country farmer Kate Cocks, from Mt Nicholas station, said her animals had only begun lambing yesterday. She hoped there would not be too many lambs on the ground yet.
Snow was more manageable for lambs than cold rain and wind, she said, but warm and sunny weather was ideal.
Her farm had a lot of shelter, and they left sheep to find their own protection from the cold and did not interfere by trying to move them. At this time she was not worried about mortalities, she said.
Spring storms were something that high country farmers expected. Farmers at lower altitudes, who were not used to such weather this time of the year, would feel a bigger impact on their farms, she said.
Beef + Lamb adviser for biosecurity and animal welfare Will Halliday said ensuring livestock were well-fed and had shelter would mean they survived.
Farmers needed two to three weeks of feed supplements in reserve for big snow events, he said.
Beef + Lamb had guidelines on how to handle snow, Halliday said. Clearing snow covered grass with a snow plow as soon as possible saved lambs’ lives, and gave them access to feed.
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