Heavy rain and flooding continued to cause major problems throughout Northland yesterday with roads closed, slips across the region and farmers facing major financial losses - and more rain is due today.
Flood-hit farmers in the Hikurangi Swamp area are facing major financial losses and months of hard work as a result of the latest deluge, which dumped up to 373.5mm of rain on parts of Northland in less than 48 hours.
With hundreds of paddocks under water, farmers are trying to sell off stock and find feed for those that remain. For dairy farmers just beginning calving, the floodwaters couldn't have come at a worse time.
Jesse Bagley, farm manager on the Lammers farm, was up till midnight Monday shifting cows to higher ground. After a couple of hours sleep, he awoke to find 99 of the farm's 100 paddocks underwater. Because the paddocks could be flooded for days or even weeks, the Lammers were trying to reduce stock numbers.
However, finding feed for the remaining stock, including 300 heavily pregnant cows, was the immediate challenge, Mr Bagley said. Cows will be shifted to higher ground and feed will be brought in, but much was dependant on how quickly the flooded paddocks drain.