Lush Spring Expected

Filed in Recent News by September 1, 2016

TODAY is the first day of spring and while many people may be looking forward to warmer weather, predictions of a lush spring in the Upper Hunter bring hazards for hay fever sufferers and farmers alike.

The unusually wet winter is expected to produce plenty of grass once the weather warms which is a major trigger for people with hay fever but some simple steps may help reduce a reaction explains Dr Monica Falk, allergy specialist and immunologist at Northern Sydney Allergy.

“There are some very simple things you can do, such as don’t hang your washing on the line, if you hang your sheets it acts like a big pollen trap which you then bring in and sleep in a giant pile of pollen, try using a clothes drier or hanging washing inside instead,” said Dr Falk.

“Switch your car air to recirculate and you can buy a pollen filter to fit to your car filter, which can help and wear sunglasses when you are outside to reduce pollen getting in your eyes,” she said.

“Simple saline nasal sprays and eye drops can wash pollen out and taking an antihistamine before things get bad can help, but it’s a bit like shutting the gate before the horse has bolted, do it early,” she said.

“There are also preventers such as steroid nasal sprays which are better for longer term relief, whereas with antihistamines after 24 hours you are back to square one and in a mess,” she said.

“If you have more than the occasional sniffle or sneeze and you are taking medications three or four times a week then immunotherapy can be a good option; you take the therapy for five years and then people may have relief for five to ten years, which can be life changing,” Dr Monica Falk said.

Your general practitioner can give further advice on approaches to hayfever management and can refer you to a specialist for immunotherapy.

Farming Front

Jim Callinan, livestock agent with Davidson Cameron Clydsdale and Taylor, thinks there might be short supply of bloat oil during spring in the Upper Hunter.

“We’re going to break into a magnificent spring probably one of the best we’ve had for quite some time,” said Mr Callinan.

“We certainly needed a wet winter and this is the first wet winter we’ve had for a long, long time and we got it and now we are going to have to deal with the other side of it, with a lush spring it brings other problems,” he said.

“It will be a bit of a headache in places with livestock, there’ll be cattle with bloat because there’ll be lots of clover about and not a lot of roughage so it’s going to be pretty lush,” he said.

“There’ll probably be a shortage on bloat oil and bloat blocks, the worms will be active and if you don’t control them they can get on top of everything,” he said.

“The crops will be thriving and then in another couple of months around November they won’t want any wet weather at all because they won’t be able to get to the paddock to do their stripping then.

“Everywhere is green, but we now need some good warm days to get some growth, with some 24 and 25 degree days that will start to happen,” he said.

“Farming is a real gamble, we mightn’t back race horses or play poker machines but we are probably the biggest gamblers of all time,” laughed Jim Callinan.

 

 

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