CAVENDISH wool and lamb producer John Huf fears he will be carting water to his property this summer because of the dry conditions but believes he’s lucky compared to farmers in other parts of the state.
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Mr Huf, who runs 4500 sheep on his 526-hectare property near Hamilton, said the dry winter and spring had left dam levels on his property at half the levels they usually were.
He expects he will have to pump water from dams still holding water to dry areas and has bought portable troughs to keep water up to his stock.
The dry had also forced him to cut his hay early, halving its yield and he expects to be feeding out grain and hay to his sheep a lot earlier than usual.
His pastures were also “a bit short” but he was counting his blessings compared to farmers further north whose crops were ruined by the early season heatwave this month.
The dry had prompted him to sell off lambs and sheep a month earlier than usual but he was chuffed at the good prices they fetched.
He was also taking hope that a long range forecast for above average summer rains in January would help him get through.
Rural Consulting Group consultant Janet Sloan will speak at a series of workshops throughout the south-west this month that has been organised by WestVic Dairy to help dairy farmers cope with the dry conditions.
Ms Sloan said many south-west farmers would have to buy in feed to get through the coming summer.
However the decision by many farmers in the north of the state to cut crops ruined by the heatwave for hay should mean there was an adundance of cereal hay available.
That had kept prices down at the moment but prices for the higher quality vetch and lucerne hay had lifted.
Ms Sloan urged farmers to plan ahead for the forecast dry conditions and order their fodder requirements now. She said the dry had also prompted most farmers to sell off their least productive stock and it was fortunate they were able to sell into a buoyant livestock market.