Farmers are being better prepared for unpredictable weather events through a series of seminars.

With experts predicting extreme weather making farming tougher, Beef and Lamb decided to host the series entitled ‘Farming the Wild Weather'. The Rotorua workshop is on June 28.

'We've all been caught out by the weather at some point in our farming careers. Every time, you swear you'll be better prepared for the next one. I wish I'd got to a workshop like this years ago,” Says B+LNZ Farmer Council member Ross Richards. The King Country farmer says he will be taking a couple of key steps now, in readiness for the next weather event.

'We have a relatively low rainfall and pumice soils, so dry spells can be a real problem – especially in the autumn, as we also get cold winters, plenty of severe frosts and the occasional snowfall thrown in.

'Our place has a lot of south-facing shady country, so that doesn't help. In the wake of this workshop, I'm going to use my feed budgeting software to look at some different scenarios for how I might react to lost feed, based on different times of the year and different stock classes.”

NIWA climate specialist Andrew Tait talks about the country's climate history and future, as well as the variability that comes with New Zealand's El Nino and La Nina weather patterns. Farmers will be especially interested to hear his predictions around long-term climate forecasts for their local regions.

Farm management specialists Rural Business Solutions take farmers through how they can build resilient farm systems to handle climate variability.

B+LNZ Extension Manager Erica van Reenen says the workshops are designed for farmers to assess the risks of climate variability, the potential impact on their farm systems and plan strategies to cope when wild weather does strike.

The first was held in Taumarunui and attracted about 20 farmers. Another three workshops are scheduled for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty: Otorohanga on 12 June; Waikaretu on 20 June; and Rotorua on 28 June.

The two-hour workshops start at 4pm and conclude with a guest speaker and free dinner. For catering purposes, please contact Erica van Reenen on [email protected] or 07 839 0286.