'Far from over'

The Hawke’s Bay president of Federated Farmers, Jim Galloway, says before Cyclone Gabrielle struck, the cows were milking well in the region and there was good chance that they would milk through well into May.

But he says upwards of 30 dairy farmers have had to dry off their cows now because road access to their farms is cut off, milk tankers can’t get through and restoring access could still be weeks away.

“The areas especially affected are Tutira and Patoka where as well as road access being cut off they have damage caused by slips to races, fences and pump sheds as well as their homes. In the case of Patoka, the Rissington bridge is down and so is the one at Dartmoor which has completely cut access,” he says.

Galloway says the lack of power has added to their woes and while most had access to generators and were potentially able to milk, there is a shortage of fuel.

He says farmers have decided that the best use of limited supplies of fuel is to get farm infrastructure up and running as soon as possible.

He says for many dairy farmers a large chunk of their income this season will be gone due to the damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.