“We are going to be discussing it more and more over the coming weeks as it becomes clearer and clearer what it might look like.”
Initial discussions with the Primary Industries Ministry lead him to believe they will be able to find a solution that allows farmers to shift to a new job without risking their health.
It could mean changing how Moving Day is done.
“We’re working on a solution.
“Whatever happens it’s going to be a time when people are going to have to work together. The transition from one farm to the next might take longer and there might need to be a bit more grace around shifting stuff over a longer period of time.”
His message to farm owners is to keep communication open and show goodwill to the incoming and outgoing sharemilkers.
“It’s not going to be a simple situation and it’s going to take all three parties working together.”
Farmers are used to following biosecurity protocols for shifting cattle.
“Farmers are in a better place to understand and deal with coronavirus because they have had to deal with Mycoplasma bovis,” he said.
Te Pirita dairy farmer Robin Hornblow and wife Kirstie are moving from a farm manager’s role to a contract milking job near Ashburton for the new milking season.
He feels like he has prepared as best he can for the shift.
“But if the lockdown was to go on into May and even into June there would have to be some leniency on the rules and letting family who don’t live in our bubble help. My wife and I wouldn’t be able to move all our possessions by ourselves due to her being pregnant and not able to do any heavy lifting.”
He is lucky the farm owner and outgoing contract milker left him some shed space on the new farm, enabling him to move some things there before the lockdown.
“Now we just have to wait and see and prepare the best we can to move the rest of our house and gear all in one day on May 31.
“We are renting vehicles to move our possessions. They have been good to deal with and we had them booked in well in advance before the lockdown. We aren’t bringing any livestock so there is no worry for us in that space. For equipment we have purchased the dealership is organising delivery.”
South Canterbury sharemilker Ben Jaunay is moving from a herd-owning sharemilking job to managing a large corporate farm next season.
So he has a lot of farm equipment and stock he no longer needs and is trying to sell.
“When you’re exiting herd-owning you’ve got a heck of a lot of gear for a start and I’ve still got some stock to sell and that’s proving quite difficult.”
He has to leave his farm by May 31 and is concerned he might not be able to get rid of his cull cows with space being so tight at meat plants.
He has contracted his milking herd for the new season and is trying to sell online his remaining beef cattle on his lease block as well as tractors and mixer wagons.
But no one is interested in buying the machinery because people cannot go on his farm to inspect it.
“That’s the challenge. Everything’s on hold but so many people are in the same position. It’s just a matter of sitting tight and seeing what happens.
“If the lockdown suddenly goes from four weeks to eight weeks it might get a bit complicated.”
