A wet, cold spring and summer delayed the sowing of winter crops and forage harvesting in the south but widespread flooding with up to 200mm of rain in two and a half days exacerbated the problem.
Flooding was predominantly by the Mataura and Pomahaka Rivers, swamping late sown crops and pasture and destroying baleage stacks with reports of individual farmers losing 300 bales.
DairyNZ estimates 100 dairy farms in Southland and South Otago are severely affected by the flooding.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited the region on Wednesday and declared the flooding an adverse event, releasing an initial $100,000 for Rural Support Trusts to help the recovery and saying more could follow if needed.
Attention is now turning to the clean-up.
Brydone dairy farmer Jon Pemberton had water over 20% of his farm. Now the flooding has subsided the land is covered with 30cm of gravel from a pit upstream.
It will have to be mechanically removed, pasture resowed and fences, tracks and troughs replaced but he says others are worse off.
Dealing with displaced herds and damaged farms has inflated stress levels and there is potential for dispute between farm owners, farm managers and sharemilkers about the recovery response.
He is trying to initiate a mediation service.
Southland Federated Farmers vice president Bernadette Hunt says gravel and silt deposited on paddocks is a widespread issue but the flooding has destroyed fences and other infrastructure.
“There is a huge amount of work to do.”
While the focus has been on the Mataura River, flooding on the Pomahaka River in west Otago and some areas next to the Oreti River in central Southland has also caused problems.
The federation is co-ordinating the Farmy Army to help clear fences of flood debris. Those willing to help and those needing help should register on the organisation’s website or Facebook.
It is miraculous people were not injured and stock losses appear to be minimal given the volume of water and the potential danger farmers put themselves in to move threatened animals, Hunt said.
Fonterra’s Edendale and Stirling plants were shut for a period during the flooding but were back to normal on Thursday.
Silver Fern Farms closed its Waitane and Finegand plants on Wednesday but they were reopened by Friday. Alliance's Mataura plant was still closed at time of writing.
On Wednesday the swollen Mataura River exceeded 2500 cubic metres a second, causing the evacuation of hundreds of homes in Gore, Mataura and Wyndham. The last evacuated residents returned home on Thursday.
Balfour farmer Blair Drysdale, who farms on the banks of the Mataura River, says the area was inundated by localised rain combined with heavy falls in the headwaters that forced rivers to breach their banks.
Drysdale emptied 193mm out of his rain gauge from noon on Sunday to early Wednesday, compounding what has been a miserable summer.
“Everyone has had a gut’s full. It tops off what has in general been a bastard of a season since August.”
In the first five days of February between 70mm and 200mm of rain fell over northern and eastern Southland, south and west Otago.
In some cases rain in the first five days of February was twice that recorded for all of January.
Invercargill Agribusiness consultant Deane Carson says while the immediate attention will be on recovery and cleaning up, farmers will need to plan for winter.
Pasture production from September to early January for much of Southland was already 15% below average, the equivalent of 1.8 tonnes of drymatter a hectare.
But there is time to prepare for winter.
“There is still plenty of the season to go and Southland has a way of providing.” Carson said.
FMG chief client officer Andrea Brunner said claims are just starting to come in as floodwaters recede and people can access their properties.
“At this stage we’ve had a relatively small number of claims with around 40 lodged and expect that number to rise in the coming days and weeks.
“We appreciate it’s a disruptive time for many at the moment and encourage people to make their personal safety and that of their family and friends a top priority,” she said.
