increase font size
Woody debris build-up at Wigan Bridge Ūawa this morning. Photo Credit: Gisborne District Council
Federated Farmers Gisborne/Wairoa president Charlie Reynolds says farmers are in need of emotional support after rain, wind and flooding hit the region this week.
He says that, just a year and a half after Cyclone Gabrielle hit, this week’s storm will be an emotional “trigger point” for many of the region’s farmers and growers.
“We’ve had reports of some farms who’ve just finished replacing the fences along waterways and stuff and they’ve all just disappeared again. You kind of think ‘God they’ve gone out, had to borrow the money and what do they do now?’,” Reynolds told Rural News.
“We won’t really know the full impact for at least three or four days until we can get access,” he says, adding that there are several roads which are still impassable.
“All in all, it’s just a bit of wait and see.”
Reynolds says the region is emotionally tired as it grapples with the deaths of three fishermen who went missing on Monday, “at the same time as we’re getting our teeth kicked in by Mother Nature”.
“The support for the emotional side is really the key and knowing that people and friends are there.
“There will be a time where we’ll say, ‘we do need support in this area and we do need support in that area’… but we don’t want to go out and say, ‘we need this’ now, it’s just far too early.”
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
Federated Farmers says the final report into banking competition is a significant step forward for rural New Zealand - and a vindication of the farming sector's concern.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
Federated Farmers says climate protest group Greenpeace is manufacturing outrage and attempting to scare New Zealanders with headlines that have no basis in science.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
From 1 October, new livestock movement restrictions will be introduced in parts of Central Otago dealing with infected possums spreading bovine TB to livestock.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.
