Tuesday, 06 July 2021 12:55

$4m state aid for farmers

Written by  Jessica Marshall
Canterbury farmers are dealing with a massiver recovery effort after the recent floods. Canterbury farmers are dealing with a massiver recovery effort after the recent floods.

The Government has announced it will commit $4 million into relief funding for flood-affected Canterbury farmers.

“Our Canterbury farmers are dealing with a massive recovery effort following the recent floods and facing significant costs that aren’t covered by insurance,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

“The flooding has caused widespread and significant damage across a number of districts and recovery efforts are ongoing and considerable.

“It’s clear that extra funding is needed to relieve pressure on farmers who have also been battling drought.”

Associate Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri said the region’s farmers and their communities have a large task ahead of them.

“The new funding we’ve announced today should help towards paving the way for ongoing recovery efforts in Canterbury. The Government remains committed to helping them get through,” she said.

DairyNZ says it is reassured to see additional funding delivered.

DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle said the government funding will deliver greater support for farmers who have been significantly impacted by last month's flood event.

“Farmers in Canterbury have had a huge job on their hands cleaning up after the floods earlier this month – many have had paddocks and infrastructure with significant flood damage,” Mackle said.

“This has left farmers with parts of their businesses unable to function or with huge, manual and costly work to be done to clean up and get back to productive capacity.

“Additional funding to support the clean-up is very welcome and we encourage farmers to seek it out. We value the Government’s assistance to the sector.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says it is working to help drought and flood-affected farmers in Canterbury to find alternative grazing for their livestock.

“I have visited farms where pasture and winter fodder crops have been buried under flood debris,” says MPI’s director of Rural Communities and Farming Support Nick Story.

“This event has been an extremely challenging situation for farmers. The worst affected farms have a need for alternative grazing for their sheep, beef cattle and dairy cows.”

MPI’s Feed Coordination Service has been expanded to help find grazing, distribute donated feed, and connect people with surplus feed to farmers who need it.

“Our feed coordinators had more than 35 additional requests from flood-affected farmers in the first half of June who need grazing and feed,” says Story.

“It’s likely the worst flood-affected paddocks will be unusable for some time, so we expect demand will increase further as we move through the winter.”

More like this

From Sky Tower to cowshed

Every morning dairy farmer Sam Waugh sees the Auckland Sky Tower through his window. It's a great reminder of one of his key life goals - giving young people from towns and cities insights into farm life.

Celebrating dairy farmers this International Women's Day

Siobhan O’Malley is a dairy farmer, innovator, businesswoman and community volunteer, an example of the thousands of Kiwi dairy farming women throughout New Zealand who multi-task every day to contribute positively to their communities.

Unique dairy farms open their gates

A dairy farm working to increase endangered skink numbers and a boutique farm selling milk in recycled bottles will open their gates to the public this Sunday.

Featured

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

Editorial: Passage to India

OPINION: Even before the National-led coalition came into power, India was very much at the fore of its trade agenda.

National

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as…

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand…

Machinery & Products

All-terrain fert spreading mode

Effluent specialists the Samson Group have developed a new double unloading system to help optimise uphill and downhill organic fertiliser…

Can-Am showcases range

Based on industry data collected by the Motor Industry Association, Can-Am is the number one side-by-side manufacturer in New Zealand.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Papal visit

OPINION: European farmers are going to extreme lengths to have their message heard.

Thai egg tarts

OPINION: The hustle and bustle of one of Bangkok's most popular fast food outlets may feel a world away from…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter