Friday, 30 July 2021 15:26

West Coast resilience tested

Written by  Peter Burke
The debris left over from the Buller Floods that took place last week. The debris left over from the Buller Floods that took place last week.

DairyNZ head consulting officer in the South Island, Tony Finch, says his first priority has been to get an accurate assessment of the extent of the damage on farms affected by the floods.

Finch says initially it's been about making sure that people and animals are safe - after that the focus will shift to the recovery mode.

"Once we know the extent of the problem our aim is to help them get back to the state of 'business as usual'."

Finch says silting creates all sorts of challenges and the objective is to get the land back to its productive capacity as quickly as possible, as well as repairing any damaged farm infrastructure.

In the meantime, Finch says they are making sure there is sufficient feed for stock, and helping farmers with feed budgeting.

He says there is a squeeze on the availability of supplements due to previous adverse weather events on the West Coast and floods on the East Coast. He adds that the floods have come at a critical time of the year for dairy farmers.

"We are on the cusp of calving and in a couple of weeks there will be a lot of calves on the ground, so right now there are a lot of pregnant cows around," Finch explains.

"For DairyNZ, it is around how we give those farmers as much support as we can to help them recover through this challenging time."

More like this

DairyNZ board sets new levy rate

DairyNZ has set a new levy rate of 4.5c/kgMS from 1 June 2025 and aims to keep the levy at no more than this rate for a minimum of three years.

Featured

Farmers urged not to be complacent about TB

New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.

Editorial: Making wool great again

OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.

National

Machinery & Products

Farmer-led group buys Novag

While the name and technology remain unchanged and new machines will continue to carry the Novag name, all the assets,…

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Make it 1000%!

OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…

Own goal

OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter