Flooding on Pāmu Farms' West Coast dairy farms. Photo: SUPPLIED/PĀMU FARMS OF NZ
South Island farmers are working to keep farms running amid power outages, road closures and damaging winds - with all eyes on rising rivers.
Severe gale northwesterlies are lashing parts of the east coast on Thursday, particularly Canterbury, while MetService has issued heavy rain warnings for already-sodden areas Fiorldland and Westland.
Slips and surface flooding have hit the roading network, with multiple road closures across the West Coast and inland into upper South Island state highways including SH6 and SH8.
State-owned farming enterprise Pāmu Farms has 130 staff working in 24 largely dairy farms in the upper South Island across Canterbury, West Coast and Marlborough.
Pāmu Farms has 130 staff working in 24 largely dairy farms in the upper South Island, including on the West Coast. Photo: SUPPLIED/PĀMU FARMS OF NZ
The area's general manager, Cam Walker said teams had been busy preparing for today's weather by moving stock out of high risk areas in advance and giving them extra feed.
He said fortunately they were still able to get milk tankers in, despite many road closures.
"It's definitely a wild ol' spring at the moment," he said.
"Luckily yeah there have been some road closures, but there has been a path to get through to all the farms, so there have been a few detours in place and things, but luckily no disruptions to milk.
"We have had a few power outages, but the team's done a good job preparing for that with generators and things to keep milking going."
There is anxiety about rivers in parts of the South Island. Photo: SUPPLIED/PĀMU FARMS OF NZ
All eyes on rising rivers
Walker said staff were watching rising rivers closely, particularly in Canterbury and Marlborough.
"Well, everyone's got concerns at the moment. Definitely the gale force winds across the Canterbury region's a big focus for us today. The rivers are up through there with the West Coast rain spilling into the headwaters," he said.
"Teams are managing infrastructure like pivots downwind... and watch out for any flying debris and stay away from trees and all of that sort of stuff."
He said Molesworth Station got 40 millimetres of rainfall yesterday with more forecast, and the area's rivers were very high.
"They're keeping a close eye on [river] levels up there. Hanmer, the Waiau is bank to bank, so flood protection is doing a good job across our farms there, but there is a little bit spilling over into paddocks there, nothing too major.
"It's sort of everywhere at the moment to be honest in our region."
Flooding on Pāmu Farms' West Coast dairy farms. Photo: SUPPLIED/PĀMU FARMS OF NZ
'Trying' conditions on the wet West Coast
Walker, based on the West Coast, said it was a wet spring there already, ahead of today's forecast rain.
"It's been a wet ol' time across the coast over spring, and we've had 500-odd millimetres over the last month already, and with more rain over the last 24 hours and obviously more on the forecast, it's been pretty trying conditions," he said.
"But the team's doing a good job and the focus is obviously on safety first for our people and they're out there looking after the animals at the moment."
Bad weather came at an already busy time for the dairy farms in the midst of mating.
Walker said mating was in full swing, so farmers were ensuring stock were well fed after a tough few weeks from the rain.
"I guess it's just around making good decisions around what jobs can wait for better weather conditions, but things like mating are absolutely still happening and the teams are just making sure cows are in sheltered paddocks and feeding a little bit more feed just to get the cows through.
"But luckily it's a norwest flow with this rain so it is relatively warm out there, but certainly the animals are feeling it from a month of pretty wet conditions across the coast, that's for sure."
Walker said fortunately feed levels were good due to the warm weather that had come with the storms.
Pāmu Farms has hundreds of farms scattered across Aotearoa.
