30 Nov 2015

Farmers keen on decent weather after June floods

9:03 am on 30 November 2015

Flood-affected farmers who are still trying to recover from June's extreme weather event are hoping for a good summer and autumn.

Manawatu River at the esplanade,  Palmerston North

The swollen Manawatu River seen in the floods from June Photo: Supplied: Keren Dittmer

Torrential rain and flooding hit parts of the Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu and Rangitikei regions in late June, causing millions of dollars worth of damage to both flat and hill country farms.

Beef and Lamb's Western North Island director, Kirsten Bryant, who is a Whanganui and Taumaranui sheep and beef farmer, said her farms suffered a huge amount of damage.

She said following a bad spring, the recovery had been a slow process.

"It was a killer," Ms Bryant said. "On a personal basis our farm in Whanganui got a really hard time. Both our flats, which are in the Whangaehu Catchment and in our hill country, have taken a beating and basically it's just a slow progression to get it going again. We started with the fencing, trying to get it stock-proof - that took a long time - then (we got) slowly into re-grassing and re-cropping."

"It's not a one-year fix, this will be a 10-year process... It's been a really difficult winter and it's been a pretty challenging spring too to be honest."

She said farmers have got on with it, but there has been a lot of support.

"Banks have been really supportive. First few days for us, our bank was on the blower saying what do we need, what do we need to do. For some of us it's been pretty major and for some of us it's happened more than once, but you've got to look at it in the long term and sheep and beef is a long term game."

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