Volunteers helping farmers clear flooded paddocks
A group of volunteers from Lincoln University known as the 'Handy Landies' is among those descending on Otago to help farmers get their properties back to normal.
He says the goal of the trust right now is to ensure that no farmers in need are overlooked.
He says MPI is doing a needs assessment, but the trust, along with other agencies is using its respective networks to double check that all those who need help will get it.
"The trust has had some but not a lot of, direct requests for help, but this isn't surprising, with farmers focused on their immediate need to clear and repair fences and in some cases tracks on their properties," he says.
Pinckney says farmers will also have to re-grass damaged pastures and assess stock losses.
He says some farmers in the worst hit areas may have lost between 10-15% of their lambs.
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Volunteers helping farmer clear flooded paddocks
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Support welcomed for southern farmers
He says once farmers get their places back to normal and have time to assess what they are faced with, the issue of mental health will start to come to the fore.
He says that's why the trust is expecting the impacts of the floods to play out for some time with all sorts of pressures going on farmers.
