Tuesday, 28 February 2023 06:55

100 farms still remain cut off

Written by  Sudesh Kissun
A cow almost entirely engulfed and trapped in silt was lucky to be spotted and rescued by a team of HMNZS Te Mana personnel travelling near the Tutaekuri River in Napier. Photo Credit: New Zealand Defence Force Facebook Page. A cow almost entirely engulfed and trapped in silt was lucky to be spotted and rescued by a team of HMNZS Te Mana personnel travelling near the Tutaekuri River in Napier. Photo Credit: New Zealand Defence Force Facebook Page.

Around 100 farms remain inaccessible by road in northern Hawke’s Bay, two weeks after carnage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Helicopters and fixed wing aircraft are being used by Fonterra, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and state farmer Pāmu to deliver food, fuel, communication equipment and vet supplies for farmers. No road access means Fonterra tankers are unable to pick up milk from 15 farms around Patoka.

Fonterra chairman Peter McBride told Rural News that these farms have dried off cows early and finished their season.

“My heart goes out to them,” says McBride.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand estimates between 70 to 100 farms have been impacted by landslips in northern Hawke’s Bay. BLNZ senior advisor William Halliday told Rural News that some farms between Patoka and Tutira were severely impacted. Halliday, who grew up in Patoka, says they were still in the intelligence gathering stage and it was too early to speculate on livestock losses.

“The big challenge for farmers right now is infrastructure – fences are down and in some cases sheep and cattle yards are gone,” he says. “It could be a while before some farmers would be in a position to do a head count.”

On feed supply, Halliday says there were very few requests for feed right now but it would be a crucial part of the recovery process.

During the first two days after Gabrielle struck, the communities were supplied with tinned food, nappies and sanitary products. Now choppers are flying in generators, fuel and even pet food.

Halliday points out that there are about 1,000 farm dogs in the region and they need to be fed.

State farmer Pāmu, formerly Landcorp, says its Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Pāmu farms have borne the brunt of Cyclone Gabrielle. Chief executive Mark Leslie told Rural News that the good news is that its people are safe.

“The most severe impact is to 22 of Pāmu livestock farms. Seven of our East Coast farms have had limited communications and access issues,” Leslie says.

Helicopters with emergency supplies were deployed from Taupō dropping in to do needs assessments with teams.

“General needs were generators, fuel, basic food, and GPS communicators,” he says.

“While out there we canvassed our teams for vulnerable neighbours and dropped in to see how they were. Thankfully, all are doing okay but have similar needs which we’ve since been able to meet.”

Fonterra has also flown in vets to help its farmers deal with animal health issues. McBride says Farm Source infrastructure has been mobilised to assist farmers.

“We’ve flown in vets to help farmers with animal management and also satellite navigation equipment to establish communications and find out what their needs are.”

Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, who visited affected farmers in Dargaville, Pukekohe and Hawke’s Bay told Rural News that this is the “most significant event the primary sector has faced in my living memory”.

“It has affected farmers from Kaitaia to Wairarapa but it has been very severe in Hawke’s Bay.”

He says the Government is doing all it can and the biggest challenge is damage to infrastructure.

More like this

Chinese strategy

OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.

LCAs tackle false narratives

The quest to measure, report and make sense of the energy that goes into food production has come a long way in the past 25 years.

$3b windfall?

Fonterra's proposed sale of its global consumer business could fetch over $3 billion but not all proceeds will end up in the pockets of farmer shareholders.

Featured

Boost for hort exports

The horticulture sector is a big winner from recent free trade deals sealed with the Gulf states, says Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg.

Better animal genetic gain system

A governance group has been formed, following extensive sector consultation, to implement the recommendations from the Industry Working Group's (IWG) final report and is said to be forming a 'road map' for improving New Zealand's animal genetic gain system.

SIDE 2025's new schedule, venue

Annual farmer gathering, the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE), is set to make history as it heads to Timaru for the first time.

Taranaki piggery goes solar

Installing 400 solar panels at their Taranaki piggery and cropping operation will have significant environmental, financial and animal welfare benefits for the Stanley family.

National

The show is on!

It was bringing in a new Canterbury A&P Association (CAPA) show board, more in tune with the CAPA general committee,…

Food charity to hold online auction

Meat the Need, New Zealand’s dedicated charity delivering locally sourced protein meals to food-insecure communities, is launching an online National…

Machinery & Products

An ideal solution for larger farms

Designed specifically for large farms that want to drill with maximum flexibility, efficiency and power, the new Lemken Solitair ST…

Landpower increases its offering

Landpower and the Claas Harvest Centre network will launch the Claas Scorpion and Torion material handling solutions to the market…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Leaky waka

OPINION: Was the ASB Economic Weekly throwing shade on Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr when reporting on his speech in…

Know-it-alls

OPINION: A reader recently had a shot at the various armchair critics that she judged to be more than a…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter