He’d had a good lambing percentage but day after day of cold, wet weather had killed not just newborns but week-old lambs.
Then came the wind.
Trees were blown out of the ground, many taking down fences.
Roofing iron was torn off; windows were blown out; calf sheds blown over; power was cut off and in some places won’t be back on for several days; water supplies were also cut off; and cell phone and internet coverage was knocked out.
A state of emergency was declared and at times like these, help isn’t needed just from authorities, it’s a time for family and friends to step up.
Several years ago we identified power loss as one of the big risks to our dairy operation at home and bought a generator.
It went down to a staff member’s son’s farm near Milton on Friday but the power was reconnected just as it got there. The farm was on the way to the water treatment plant and reconnecting that was a priority.
The generator is now servicing several farms in Southland and a friend messaged that six more generators had arrived from Canterbury.
This is peak milk season. If cows aren’t milked not only will they be uncomfortable, they’ll be susceptible to mastitis.
Stock water relying on pumps is also cut off.
It’s not just farms that are struggling. With no power and internet connection there’s no EFTPOS, cash has become king again.
Houses and businesses relying on power have no heating, unless they have barbecues they won’t be able to cook, and food in freezers will start thawing.
Southland and Otago aren’t the only areas affected, there’s been widespread damage further north.
A friend in Canterbury reports that 300 centre pivots and pivot sections have been damaged.
One man was killed by flying debris in Wellington earlier in the week.
We can be grateful that there has been no other loss of human life and we should be grateful to the workers and volunteers working through the holiday weekend to restore water and power, replace fences and remedy other damage.
This is a widespread disaster, full recovery will be expensive and lengthy.
Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
Roofing iron was torn off; windows were blown out; calf sheds blown over; power was cut off and in some places won’t be back on for several days; water supplies were also cut off; and cell phone and internet coverage was knocked out.
A state of emergency was declared and at times like these, help isn’t needed just from authorities, it’s a time for family and friends to step up.
Several years ago we identified power loss as one of the big risks to our dairy operation at home and bought a generator.
It went down to a staff member’s son’s farm near Milton on Friday but the power was reconnected just as it got there. The farm was on the way to the water treatment plant and reconnecting that was a priority.
The generator is now servicing several farms in Southland and a friend messaged that six more generators had arrived from Canterbury.
This is peak milk season. If cows aren’t milked not only will they be uncomfortable, they’ll be susceptible to mastitis.
Stock water relying on pumps is also cut off.
It’s not just farms that are struggling. With no power and internet connection there’s no EFTPOS, cash has become king again.
Houses and businesses relying on power have no heating, unless they have barbecues they won’t be able to cook, and food in freezers will start thawing.
Southland and Otago aren’t the only areas affected, there’s been widespread damage further north.
A friend in Canterbury reports that 300 centre pivots and pivot sections have been damaged.
One man was killed by flying debris in Wellington earlier in the week.
We can be grateful that there has been no other loss of human life and we should be grateful to the workers and volunteers working through the holiday weekend to restore water and power, replace fences and remedy other damage.
This is a widespread disaster, full recovery will be expensive and lengthy.
Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
No comments:
Post a Comment