Flood's timing a cruel blow to farmers

By LIAM DANN AND STAFF REPORTERS

Dairy farmers in the Bay of Plenty have been dealt a devastating blow by floods which will leave them short of feed during the critical calving season.

Up to 500 farms are understood to have been affected by flooding, with about 50 facing severe damage.

"You couldn't pick a worse time for these floods," said Dairy Farmers of NZ chairman Kevin Wooding.

He said the next few months were always the crunch time in terms of providing feed for animals.

The timing was far worse than February's floods in the lower North Island, because at that time of year warm dry weather could be expected.

"Things won't dry out quickly at this time of year," Mr Wooding said.

Even farmers whose properties had not been flooded would be facing wet soil and struggling to feed stock.

Transporting cattle to farms that could handle the extra stock was going to be a significant cost as well.

Last night, 49 Fonterra farmers were forced to dump milk when collections were cancelled because of flooding or washed-out roads.

The Bay of Plenty accounts for about 11 per cent of Fonterra's annual production and flooding has been most severe across the key dairying country in the eastern Bay.

Fonterra's Edgecumbe processing plant, closed for repairs and due to reopen on July 30, was damaged by the flood waters. A Fonterra spokesman said the opening date might now be delayed, although the damage was still being assessed.

The Bay of Plenty is also an important horticultural region, producing the bulk of the nation's kiwifruit and avocado crops.

Zespri spokeswoman Joe Ireland said most of the region's kiwifruit orchards were north of the flood zone in western Bay of Plenty.

She said picking was finished for the season so there was little chance of any serious impact on growers.

The flood's timing will also reduce the impact on the avocado harvest.

Avocado Industry Council chief executive John Cutting said the harvest for the domestic market was just starting but there was a long way to go until it got into full swing.

"There's no such thing as a good time for a flood but this is as good as we are going to get ," he said.

However there was potential for some damage to orchards in Opotiki.

Some retailers in the eastern Bay were forced to cease trading during the heavy rains.

One Warehouse store in Whakatane was closed for just under half a day yesterday although trading losses were described as "minimal".

"We got off pretty light actually," said The Warehouse head of investor relations, Mark Fennell.

The Whakatane store was closed because the central business precinct was shut down by Civil Defence.

Restaurant Brands had four or five stores in the area but none were badly affected and the impact would minimal, a spokesman said.

Up to a thousand Telecom customers suffered cuts as flood waters damaged a telephone exchange in Waimana, and dozens of roadside cabinets across Te Teko, Waiotahi, Edgecumbe and Ohope. Telecom was yesterday trying to get technicians to some areas.

"The main problem is getting access because a lot of these things are still under water," a Telecom spokeswoman said.

In Waimana, an exchange serving about 300 people failed, leaving residents unable to call out of the area.

For Telecom, the flood damage was not as severe as it was in February, when 6000 customers in the lower North Island had their services disrupted. In that flooding, cables were knocked out at 40 river crossings when bridges were washed away or swamped by floodwaters.