Te Mania Angus Stud’s Tom Gubbins battling ‘boggy’ winter

It’s getting pretty wet underfoot in the Western District thanks to an unexpectedly wet June with some lowlying paddocks now waterlogged.

It’s no secret that most farmers would prefer wet conditions over a drought.

And there’s always that old saying; “There’s money in mud, no money in dust.”

But it’s getting pretty wet underfoot at Mortlake.

The region measured another 6mm of rain at the Mortlake airport in the past seven days, and while it may not sound like a lot, the soil moisture profile was already full from a wet spring last year.

Tom Gubbins of Te Mania Angus Stud said there were undoubtedly some boggy conditions on his property, but he was fortunate to have other undulating areas that weren’t so bad.

The relentless rain has resulted in waterlogging across some of the lower-lying country at Mortlake.

Tom said the females on his property would start calving in August, and he could move them to higher ground where it wasn’t so wet.

“We have some paddocks saved up that will be suitable for calving,” he said.

“The ground was still slightly wet from last spring.”

He said the colder and wet conditions of recent times were taking a toll on pasture growth.

However, he was pleased with how the cattle held up in the current conditions and said the wet and boggy ground hadn’t caused any foot problems.

“It has been a good season for livestock in our area, unfortunately not so good for cropping,” he said.