View from helicopter of the flooding around Prenter's Metal Pit just out of town on Weber Road near the Manawatu river. Video / Tararua District Council
With fresh evacuations ongoing and total fatalities from the lethal Cyclone Gabrielle still unknown, a new nightmare is brewing for rural areas wrecked by flooding - how to feed surviving livestock.
Flooding hasn’t just ruined orchards, vines, crops and livelihoods in the hardest hit regions like Hawke’s Bay, it hasdrowned grass pastures and feed crops for winter, and with it in some places has come massive silt deposits.
Silt suffocates root systems and can make access for equipment to clear it impossible, sometimes for weeks until the land dries, say primary industry producers.
Even if livestock have survived by being moved to higher ground or were already above flooded areas, with roads closed and bridges wrecked, big questions remain: How to move animals to available feed and how to get feed to them? Crops like maize for winter feed have been destroyed. Fencing is wrecked. If not choked with silt, some pastures are littered with debris.
The extent of the farm animal welfare issue is days, if not weeks, away from being fully known, said the Ministry for Primary Industries in response to Herald questions. So is a grasp of livestock casualties and sector infrastructure damage.
The first meeting of the restarted national feed working group was today, MPI said.
This group is a partnership between MPI, sector groups like Federated Farmers and specialist providers. It monitors access to feed availability, and if a significant need arises works with local networks and other partners to consider options to overcome feed availability issues.
Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard, a Manawatu dairy farmer, confirmed it was too early to know the extent of the rural issues.
Flooding on Links Road, Hawke's Bay as Cyclone Gabrielle hits the region. February 14, 2023. Photo / Paul Taylor
Meanwhile, dairy industry leader Fonterra said its milk collection tankers cannot access up to 40 farms between Hastings and Wairoa, due to severe damage to the roading network, particularly bridges.
New Zealand’s biggest business said in Northland, tanker access had been restored to most farms but farmers were still struggling, especially with power outages.
On the hard-hit Coromandel Peninsula, Fonterra truck-only units (without trailers) had been sent out on Thursday and were thought to be able to access most farms. Coromandel has been shut off by flooding, slips and road destruction.
“We will know how many (farms) we’ve been able to collect by the end of the day,” the company said.
These cows swam more than 500m to safety. Photo / Vet Services Waipukurau
Dairy farms without power or outages and no tanker collection are most likely unable to milk cows, which results in discomfort for the animals and can lead to mastitis, said Hoggard.
He said he’d always urged dairy farmers to install emergency generators for backup but many didn’t have them, and even if they did, a generator wasn’t always enough to operate the full milking and milk collection systems.
Hoggard said communicating with affected farmers was difficult due to phone and internet issues but his organisation had begun working with other relief groups.
Federated Farmers president and economy spokesman Andrew Hoggard. Photo / Supplied
It is not peak dairy production time, but many farms had still hoped for another few months of production before drying off herds until spring.
New Zealand’s economically important kiwifruit and apple harvests were just beginning when Cyclone Gabrielle hit.
MPI director rural communities and farming support, Nick Story, said the ministry’s focus right now was on ensuring rural people and communities were safe.
“It is a tough time for farmers and growers who are only just beginning to clean up after the heavy rain and flooding in January.
“This is still an unfolding and significant weather event. MPI is meeting with the sector regularly to help build a full picture of damage and the immediate needs to support farmers, growers, and whenua Māori entities and has staff on the ground in regions helping the response efforts.
“It’s difficult to fully assess damage and disruption due to current conditions on the ground.
“Significant power cuts are affecting communications across many parts of the North Island, but it is clear the cyclone has significantly affected farms, horticulture, infrastructure and the rural roading network.
“We expect to get a fuller picture of crop damage, livestock losses, and infrastructure damage over the coming days and weeks. In terms of stock deaths, we will work collaboratively with sector groups and local councils to understand the scale of stock losses and how to support landowners with safe disposal. The disposal of dead stock in these conditions is always challenging given the significant damage to infrastructure.”
