Rural agencies across Southland and South Otago have formed a co-ordinated response to a sodden spring that followed the region's wettest winter in 46 years, with silage supplies described as very tight and transport networks under strain.

The Rural Co-ordination Group met this week to assess conditions and line up support for farming communities dealing with prolonged wet weather, pressure on feed and pasture damage. Its members are Rural Support Trust Southland and Otago, the Ministry for Primary Industries, Environment Southland, Federated Farmers, Thriving Southland, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and DairyNZ.

Southland Rural Support Trust chairman Simon Hopcroft said every farm was different but many farmers and their teams were facing added pressure, difficult decisions and long days.

"The sustained wet weather is taking a real toll across parts of Southland and South Otago," he said.

The group has set four priorities: people, animals, feed and property. It is also keeping ministers and government agencies briefed so that decision-makers have a current picture of conditions in the south.

Feed tight, logistics stretched

Mr Hopcroft said supplementary feed was available but silage was very tight, and transport and logistics networks were under growing pressure. Farmers who might need extra feed were urged to plan early rather than wait.

He encouraged anyone under pressure to talk to neighbours, trusted advisers, vets, banks, industry organisations or the Rural Support Trust, saying an early conversation often turned up practical options and risks that could be managed. Looking after people, he said, mattered as much as looking after the farm.

Several organisations are planning farmer support and wellbeing events across the region, offering practical information, access to rural professionals and the chance to compare notes with other farmers. Groups organising events have been asked to register them on the Rural Support Trust Southland and Otago events calendar so that efforts are co-ordinated across communities.

Wettest winter since 1980

Environment Southland's rainfall records show Murihiku Southland swung from a drier-than-usual autumn to its wettest winter in more than 45 years. Winter rainfall averaged 33 per cent above normal, making it the wettest since 1980 and the second wettest since 1970.

"We've gone from very low rainfall in May to high and very high rainfall from late June onwards," the council's principal hydrology scientist, Chris Jenkins, said.

Compliance manager Donna Ferguson said the conditions had been challenging but landowners had generally coped well, with most winter grazing operations observing buffers and leaving critical source areas ungrazed. With the winter grazing season ending on 30 September, she advised minimising stock movement over bare ground to limit sediment and nutrient loss, and keeping an eye on effluent pond levels, cultivation plans and self-feeding silage stacks.

The outlook offers little relief. Earth Sciences New Zealand expects El Niño conditions to peak in late spring or early summer, in an event already comparable to 1997 and likely to be among the strongest in recent history. For Southland, that points to colder, windier and wetter weather than average through spring, intensifying into summer.

Farmers wanting advice can call 0800 76 88 45 to speak with an Environment Southland land sustainability officer, and the Rural Support Trust, DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb New Zealand Southern, Fonterra and Open Country Dairy all have teams working with rural communities.