Milk dumped as snow traps tankers

While the news has been full of the urban population enjoying the experience of the rare event of snow in the northern provinces there is nothing glamorous or exciting about snow as a livestock farmer.

With a pasture based system heavy snow exposes livestock to feed stresses that if close to calving or lambing can expose them to an outbreak of metabolic diseases that can have big costs in stock losses.

At this time of year high energy feeds, are needed to sustain pregnant livestock that are feeding for two (or sometimes three or four) and farmers in areas where snow is common will have stores of such feeds and the ability to dispense in inclement weather.

However in areas where snow is rare and saved grass is the quality diet of choice, such an unusual and heavy snow fall will see livestock at risk.

Farmers risk management often gets more conservative as they get older and its no wonder if we look at the volatility of the recent financial climate, currency and now the weather, all of which they have little control over.

Dairy farmers Click Here for snow advice from Dairy NZ while sheep and cattle operators are offered snow advice on the Beef and Lamb NZ site.

About 1900 dairy farms in the South Island are dumping thousands of litres of milk as Fonterra's collection tankers are stranded because of severe weather conditions. A Fonterra spokesperson said it had only had a limited number of tankers out on the road. Sites have been closed at Stirling in Otago and the Canterbury Plains. Sites remained open at Clandeboye in Timaru and Edendale in Southland, but only with a skeleton staff.

There was also limited collection of milk in the lower North Island, particularly in Taranaki reports Stuff. Fonterra's sustainability teams were in contact with farms who need to dispose of milk, and were liaising with regional councils. Some options for disposal include irrigating the milk to land and selling it to local pig farmers for feed, said the Fonterra spokesperson.