Hawke's Bay leaders launch Mayoral Drought Relief Fund

New drought relief fund is to be set up to help Hawke's Bay farmers. Photo / Supplied

A drought relief fund is to be set up to help Hawke's Bay farmers with what leaders say is an ongoing and unprecedented emergency.

The Mayoral Drought Relief Fund, set up by four Hawke's Bay's mayors and the regional council's chairman, will attempt to combat issues including bare paddocks, hungry stock and limited supplementary feed.

The councils are in the process of deciding how best to support the rural community, with some set to decide on funding contributions over the coming days.

The Civil Defence Rural Advisory Group, made up of farming leaders, councillors, the East Coast Rural Support Trust, Ministry for Primary Industries, Beef and Lamb, NZ Fire Service, the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, and Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management, will establish criteria and the process for distribution of the funding.

Advisory Group chair Lochie MacGillivray said the fund will go a long way in boosting morale in the rural community.

"The drought relief fund will go towards establishing a secure line of transport to get feed to farms where it is most needed, and alleviate the financial burden for many farming families," he said.

The local leaders involved in the fund are Hawke's Bay's Regional Council chairman Rex Graham, Napier City Mayor Kirsten Wise, Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Alex Walker and Wairoa Mayor Craig Little.

CHB District Council announced contributions to the fund with $50,000 each pledged by themselves and consumer-owned local electricity lines company Centralines.

Walker said while wage subsidies and loans help support businesses, there's little financial support for farming.

"Movement restrictions from the Covid-19 lockdown, plus widespread dry across the North Island in particular, has put feed in extremely short supply and the logistics of transporting from other parts of the country is complex and sometimes costly," he said.

"Heading into a winter drought is a disastrous situation and even though feed is expensive, bringing it in to feed what stock is left is still the most cost-effective way of getting through."

Hastings District Council Rural Community Board chair Nick Dawson said this year's drought has been unprecedented in its severity and by the complications Covid-19 has created for farmers.

"It has become an emergency event and our board is proud to be a major contributor to the drought relief fund," he said.

Local Government leaders have also sent a joint letter to the Minister for Agriculture Damien O'Connor requesting that Government match the regional fundraising contribution to protect the productivity of a crucial part of the regional economy.

Farming, cropping and directly related production bring in $500m to the regional economy; not including the positive flow-on effects to other industries including agricultural support services, transport, utilities and retail, according to Infometrics data.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council's monitoring systems show monthly rainfall was well below normal in the Ruahine Ranges, Heretaunga and Ruataniwha Plains and southern Hawke's Bay for seven consecutive months, while soil moisture is at its lowest recorded levels for this time of the year at Bridge Pa, Ongaonga and Crownthorpe.

The funds will be held in Trust by the Hawke's Bay Disaster Relief Trust.