Regular rainfall in the Taranaki region is hindering farmers' efforts to recover from and clean up the mess left by the torrential flooding in June.
Many farms in the Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatu regions were damaged by the floods, which washed away roads, fences, and buildings and destroyed thousands of hectares of pasture.
The economic impact of the floods has now risen to $270 million.
Yesterday, the Government announced an extra $2.6 million worth of funding to help repair infrastructure, bolster the Enhanced Task Force Green, It also revealed a rural recovery co-ordinator will be appointed.
Taranaki Rural Support trustee Marcia Paurini said many farmers had been helping to clear roads, but a lot of work behind the farm gate was not able to happen until land dried out.
"Every weekend it's rained and we've been getting 70 to 100 mls up in the hill country, most weekends. I see this weekend is going to be similar, so that really puts the kai-bosch on them getting in their diggers and getting out to clear tracks, it's just too wet. As soon as they clear a track, then there's another slip behind them. In terms of clearing the silt, it's just like glue and just closes up behind them on their diggers. We need two weeks of dry weather before they can start doing that work."
Ms Paurini said farmers were looking for support inside the farm gate because many don't have insurance on bridges, pasture, and the entire length of their fencing.
