'Far-reaching' reserves feared
Farmers in the Kaikoura and Conway flat regions claim more than 45,000ha of private land has been caught up in three mātaitai reserves declared in the region.
On the day of the quake, Blenheim builder Tyler Fifield, founder of the NZ Farming Facebook page, took a couple of his mates in a ute loaded with tools and supplies and headed south to see what help they could provide.
When their efforts went viral, the page almost inadvertently became a default clearing-house for matching volunteer workers with farmers needing help.
A page administrator, Duncan Humm, says they arranged work for about 50 volunteers in January alone, mostly in the Clarence and Kekerengu areas, north of Kaikoura.
Repairs to farm tracks, fencing and stock water systems – mostly uninsurable farm infrastructure – are still the most common tasks.
Humm says the mid-January weather bomb that brought heavy rain and gale winds to much of the country caused more work for one volunteer team, which switched from repairing quake damage to clearing trees blown over the track on a Kekerengu farm.
“We’ve had two professional fencing teams up in the Clarence for a couple of weeks now and I don’t think they’re short of stuff to do,” he told Rural News. “We’re still trying to find experienced fencers and builders who can come and help.”
Humm said they were now trying to help several families with accommodation, including one project to convert a shed into temporary living quarters for a farm family living in a caravan.
In the first days after the quake, the NZ Farming page had also acted as a contact point for farmers and families trying to confirm everyone was safe. Humm says that became a 24-hour operation, with a page administrator in Germany able to take on the nightshift.
Humm also thanked those who came onboard during the second phase – supply runs by air while the roads into the worst affected areas were all blocked.
He says Marshland School, Christchurch, collected supplies with help from Andrea Roberts’ ‘Andrea’s Angels’ Givealittle page, Contact Energy donated gas bottles and Ngai Tahu Farming provided trucks and drivers to take goods to
Culverden, where Young Farmers and Lions and other volunteers loaded them onto aircraft provided by private owners and Aerowork.
Anyone willing to help with the NZ Farming volunteer effort can find contact details on their Facebook page.
