ELSIE HAGLEY

A NEW SEASON IS HERE, 2008 - 2009!
So what is the future for farmers in New Zealand?
Beef or Dairy.


The New Zealand Farmer has been hit hard by the dry summer and although we have had rain, May was very cold and pastures have green up but no growth. The problem for the next few months is the soil temperatures are down, sunlight hours are short, (shortest day is here 21 st June 2008), so all farmers can look forward to summer, even if it is a few months away. As it is we have not had much rain so the future months are most likely to be wet, which is not good for growth only mud.
The rainfall in Okoki, Urenui for 2008 is 835mm against the same time frame for 2008 was 9.83mm. Annual rainfall for this area is 2800 mm - 3000mm for the last six years of recording rainfall.
Farmers have cut bad on stock numbers, which makes it a little easier, because of the drought, which hit most area's in  New Zealand making it a little easier to winter the animals. Some farmers are saying they had a summer drought now it is a winter drought with not much feed available, in some cases winter feed short, with saved hay, silage as it has been used in the summer drought meaning they will have to buy in feed to supplement any shortage.
With the start of the new season here, maybe what we should be thinking about is -  Focus, Energy and Perseverance, establishing and managing old tools - fodder plants and crops - what better for the purpose of livestock production whether it be for dairy or beef farmers, The outlook for Beef farmers are still strong  for 2009 season.

Wetlands are Important Worldwide

This wetland is part of my garden which is beautiful especially when the waterlilies are in flower. There where goldfish in it until the bad floods at Okoki on 2nd of May 2005. Now there is only eels, frogs and many types of insects busy buzzy around the plants and birds singing in the tree tops.

WETLANDS ALSO PROVIDE LANDSCAPE AND SCENERY VALUES!
Some wetlands are just temporarily wet, drying out between rainfalls others are permanently wet. The storage capacity of a wetland will detain floodwater with the peak flow and water levels downstream, evening out as it is slowly released from the wetlands area. Plus the slow release of water from a wetlands maintains stream flow and ground water levels during summer or periods of drought. Plants such as sphagnum moss can obsorb up to 26 times their own weight of water, peat can absorb up to 10 times it's weight, which during dry periods the water is then slowly released.
Wetlands are nature's sponge during storm events.
Our wetlands or pond never dries even when we have the driest of summers as the month of
February 2007 .25mm of rain.
This wetlands is the off-flow from the ranges around our farm a great place for breeding of ducks.
One day we recieved a very nice surprise to see ducklings following their mother out off the flaxes and swimming across the pond waddling throught the paddock and into the Urenui river.
Shags, Kingfishers and Pukeko's can be a a problem especially when you have young fish.
There is nothing more beautiful than the cool wetlands area with the ranges around you and the birds singing high in the tree tops, Magpie's calling out as though they are talking to you, until a hawk fly high in the air, then it all changes, as those noisey magpie's give chase to one of those precious Hawks that not many give credit to, as a prey bird they keep the forest clean of all those dead animals or predators that destroy the young birds and egg's with the threat of extinction of flightless birds like our Kiwi's. Wetlands have beautiful scenery and provide the landscape with essential growth to help keep
New Zealand clean and green.

Improving Water Quality in Taranaki.

Urenui River - putting a new culvert in on Piko Road Okoki!

ONE WAY OF KEEPING NEW ZEALAND CLEAN AND GREEN!
Taranaki has more than 300 mountain-fed rivers, but the land that feeds these rivers has become more and more dedicated to dairy farming, when it rains the run-off from these paddocks into the region's waterway's becomes more of an issue.
In an attempt to improve the water quality in 1994 the Taranaki Regional Council introduced its
Riparian Management Programme.
The term Riparian refers to anything existing on a riverbank and the Riparian Planting Scheme aims to create a barrier between the open paddocks populated by grazing livestock and the river itself. Generally this is a area of between four to six metres, which is fenced off and planted with a variety of plants. A grass buffer inside the margin filters run off from pastureland before it enters streams, thereby reducing the growth of river-choking algae.The Riparian Planting Scheme success relies very heavily on co-operation with farmers and other landowners and since the scheme's started, it has gone from strenght to strenght, to a point that there are now over 300 plans completed by the Taranaki Regional Councils  dedicated Officers every year.
Around 50% of Taranaki Dairy Farmers have so far adopted the scheme for their farms.
Under the Clean Streams Accord's Regional Action Plan for Taranaki, ninety percent of these plans must be implemented by 2015.

 KIWI - IS A  SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE IN NEW ZEALAND

The Kiwi is New Zealands National Emblem!

Three Species of Kiwi  - Great Spotted Kiwi, Little Spotted Kiwi, Plus the Brown Kiwi.

HABITS BROWN KIWI

The Brown Kiwi survives in the South Island, Steward Island and Parts of the North Island of New Zealand.A flightless bird of the kiwi's size-roughly as big as a hen,is easy prey for flesh-eating mammals.At first glance,it barely resembles a bird. It has no visible wings or tail, but short, thick legs and coarse plumage that looks more like hair than feathers. The kiwi's eyesight is so good that the bird can run swifty through dense vegetable in pitch darkness.
It still survives in good numbers in some areas,especially in reserves.
The Kiwis home is mainly forest and scrub where it relies on it's strong legs to scurry through thick under-growth

The Brown Kiwi's

Length: 50cm,
Height: 35cm,
Weight: 2.2kgs
Females are about 20% heavier than the male.They generally lives in pairs.
Using calls to keep in contact within the dense forest.The Pair occupy and defend a territory vigorously Chasing away any intruding kiwis.                                                                        

BREEDING

 Laying Season: July-February,the Female Kiwi produces one or two huge eggs, that may equal more than a sixth of it's body weight.
Each egg contains a large,nutritous yolk that lasts not only for the long incubation but also provides the hatching chick with a packet of food in the form of a yolk sac.
The female lays her eggs in a hole among dense vegetation, between tree roots or in a hollow log. The male kiwi her mate incubates them for 11 weeks - The longest known incubation period of any bird.
By the time it hatches out ,each chick is open-eyed and fully feathered.Within a week it is leaving the nest alone,attempting to get food for its self.
The effort of egg production for the female and incubation for the male cause the kiwi to lose about a fifth of their body weight during each breeding attempt.

FOOD AND FEEDING