Farmers are struggling to access vital feed as the relentless weather sees a continued impact on maize production.

Farming consultant Kim Robinson, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years, says the
stress farmers are experiencing is at a level never seen before.

Federated Farmers Arable vice-president Jamie Blennerhassett said the wet weather, particularly Cyclone Gabrielle, means maize crops were less likely to be sowed as many have failed.

“Maize grain crops in Northland, Bay of Plenty, the East Coast and right down to the Wairarapa are only at about 50 per cent of long-term averages.”

The war in Ukraine has hiked up international grain import prices which will impact poultry farmers.

Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which guaranteed a safe port of grain for a year, and bombed seaports used to ship maize internationally. These developments led to an 8 per cent lift in Chicago Board of Trade wheat prices, likely to impact New Zealand’s prices for wheat imports.

Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand executive director Michael Brooks said while New Zealand doesn’t tend to import directly from Ukraine, there will be an impact on supply which will drive up wheat prices internationally.

Brooks previously told RNZ grain costs have been up at least 60 per cent in the past year.

“Higher grain costs mean higher feed costs and feed is 65 to 70 per cent of the cost of producing an egg.”

Brooks said the impact recent major storms had on growing seeds would continue for 18 months after the events themselves.

“Certainly there have been pressures but they haven’t yet translated through, we’re in a waiting position.”

When it comes to the dairy industry, the struggles around grain were being felt monumentally especially as it came on top of inflation, wet weather and falling milk prices.

Robinson, a dairy farm business consultant of over 30 years for AgFirst, said relentless wet weather led to low pasture growth and failure of maize silage crops.

“I’ve been here for 30 years and this is the toughest spring I’ve seen.

“Most farmers are going into calving with low levels of supplementary feed and when you combine that with low pasture growth and utilisation they have to buy higher cost to get through,” she said.

Robinson said farmers were exhausted from managing wet soils and low levels of pastures for months now.

Rural farming support chair Michelle Ruddell said dairy farming is a science that requires a careful balance and water-logged pasture won’t grow.

To understand the impact people needed to know what normal looked like, she said.

“You get a good maize crop over the summer, that’s harvested and lasts 12 months.”

Ruddell said the crop is used as feed over the year when pasture doesn’t grow, keeping cows well-fed and helping with lactation.

Producing feed would normally cost around 25 cents a kilo but Ruddell said farmers have had to pay five times that just to get maize in the ground and harvested.

Farm Source regional head for Northland Mike Borrie said they were aware of the issues and difficulties farmers faced getting supplementary feed through winter.

“We have been providing support where possible to heavily impacted farmers and encourage farmers who are struggling to contact us or other rural professionals/ trusted advisers to seek available support.”

Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie recently graduated from Massey University and has a special interest in the environment and investigative reporting.