Thomas Shepherd
Thomas Shepherd is a New Zealand based writer and commentator whose content features regularly in alternative and conservative media.
Jamie Hovenden watched helplessly as floodwaters swept through his Motueka Valley farm, carrying away fencing, stock feed and even his wife, who clung to a tree until emergency services could reach her.
Now the family is living in a bus, with their home yellow-stickered and their once-productive land now buried under a thick layer of silt.
Across the Nelson-Tasman region, everyday farmers and food producers like the Hovenden family have faced devastation after a slow-moving storm system brought record levels of rainfall and river surges earlier this month.
Whole paddocks have disappeared beneath debris, commercial crops have been ruined, orchard rows have been mangled and, in many cases, decades of hard work and investment have been lost.
Furthermore, it has been only a few short years since the region, which supplies much in the way of produce, dairy, seafood and other food products to the rest of the country, as well as for export, was hit by the floods of 2022, which greatly impacted local food producers at the time.
And so as locals now pull on their gumboots and attempt to dig their livelihoods out of the mud once again, the rest of us are nervous about the effect on food prices at a time when many New Zealanders are already struggling to make ends meet.
For those already battling inflation, high interest rates and tightening margins, the flooding has been the final straw. Some families are now without a home and living in temporary accommodation. Others are pouring their life savings into recovery efforts.
Mental health is becoming a growing concern too. The Rural Support Trust has reported a sharp rise in calls in recent times, with many farmers overwhelmed by the scale of the damage and the uncertainty ahead.
The physical damage to the region’s landscape is also significant. As floodwaters tore through farmland, they left behind a mess that many say will take both years of effort and millions of dollars to repair.
According to Dion McGaveston, a farmer based in Tapawera, “We’ve got about 50 hectares that have been completely flattened by the floods, not a fence left.”
And while essential infrastructure such as roads and bridges were cut off or damaged during the flooding, critical stopbanks failed under pressure, allowing floodwaters to break through riverbanks and surge into productive land.
For many farmers, it was these breaches that sealed their fate.
McGaveston, who had approached the Tasman District Council about a defect in the stopbank between his farm and the river several years ago has described the recent breach during flooding as “an open gate for the whole flood to go straight through there”.
Paddocks once used for grazing and cropping are now littered with massive boulders, tangled fencing and knee-deep silt. Tracks and culverts have been washed out and in some areas, access to livestock is either limited or completely cut off.
Fencing alone, which is essential for farmers running stock, will cost tens of thousands of dollars per farm to replace.
Orchardists have also been hit hard. In addition to land losses, many are also dealing with buried irrigation lines, snapped support structures and trees swallowed by mud and debris.
Many nets used to protect fruit crops from birds and weather were also torn apart or carried away entirely by the flooding. In Tasman Bay, at least 150 apple bins and 39 orchard nets were recovered from the sea.
Civil Defence and council crews have been working around the clock to assess and repair the damage, but the scale is daunting and some areas remain too dangerous or unstable for assessment.
For farmers and growers, the concern now is not just about recovery, but whether some land can be recovered at all.
For orchardists, timing is critical. The flooding hit just before winter pruning and preparation for the next season. In some cases, entire blocks may need to be replanted – a process that could take five to seven years before trees return to full production.
Dairy operations are facing similar challenges. With large swathes of pasture destroyed or now unusable, farmers are scrambling to source feed for their herds. Many silage and hay stores were soaked or lost entirely, meaning extra costs for supplementary feed.
All of this will have corresponding effects on supermarket prices, with shortages or reduced supply of certain products expected to hit consumers later in the year.
With the economic impact of the flooding to ripple beyond the region, a multi-agency recovery effort is now underway. The government has classified the floods as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking up to $100,000 in aid to help rural businesses with clean-up costs and urgent repairs.
Taskforce Green teams have been deployed to assist with labour and the Rural Support Trust has also stepped in to offer mental health support and welfare checks.
Meanwhile, several banks including BNZ have announced relief packages, including overdraft facilities of up to $100,000 for agri, business and commercial customers.
But with some farms facing millions in damages and long-term income disruption, the concern is whether this support will be enough.
Federated Farmers has launched a national appeal through the Farmers Adverse Events Trust, asking Kiwis to chip in where they can.
According to Federated Farmers President Wayne Langford, “This isn’t about helping people who’ve had a fence or two knocked down. It’s for when something big has happened that puts a farmer’s viability at risk. That’s when we step in.”
“In the past we’ve raised millions, like after Cyclone Gabrielle. But this time around, we need people to dig deep again. Whether it’s $20 or $20,000, it all helps,” he says.
Local councils have also called on the government for additional infrastructure investment, especially for stopbank repairs and flood protection. Without that, they warn, the region remains vulnerable to repeat disasters.
As New Zealanders fill their shopping baskets in the coming months, it’s worth remembering that our food security depends on the resilience of those who produce it. And with a nation to feed, giving up simply isn’t an option.
Donations to the Farmers Adverse Events Trust can be made here.
This article was originally published by the Daily Telegraph New Zealand.
