Much farm damage not covered

Lots of the flood damage inflicted on hundreds of Southland farms is not covered by insurance, Federated Farmers says.

Southland Federated Farmers vicepresident Bernadette Hunt said the floods would have a huge financial impact on many farmers and challenges lay ahead to get enough winter feed.

A lot of the damage, including to fences, some crops and laneways, would not be covered by insurance, she said.

Insurance Council of New Zealand spokeswoman Leah McNeil earlier said assessors had been on the ground in Southland this week and some insurance claims had been lodged.

It was too early to say how many claims would be lodged and what it may cost, with McNeil saying it would take at least six weeks before figures were in. Along with damage to farms in the south, other people impacted by the flooding included householders in Gore and Mataura, while extensive damage was done in the Fiordland National Park, including to the only road leading to Milford Sound.

Hunt said more than 1100 farms have been identified in the south’s ‘‘priority flood areas’’, with a significant number of them having suffered damage.

All the flooded farms would have received fence damage of some sort, including snapped fence posts, but most people’s fencing was not covered by insurance, she said.

‘‘Some people have that insurance add-on but it’s not widespread.’’

Also a lot of farm lanes and tracks had been washed away, also not covered by insurance in many cases.

Many farmers had got on with repairing them as they needed the laneways to farm their land, she said. A massive amount of gravel had been deposited onto farms from the floods and, unless removed quickly, it killed the pasture.

Hunt said paddocks that went under water were covered in dirt and the cows didn’t want to eat the pasture. ‘‘Ironically we need a good shower of rain to clean the damage.’’

Hunt said her own property lost a paddock of peas, which was not insured. ‘‘We aren’t the only ones ... A lot of arable crop that went under water won’t be insured.’’

Hunt said there would be challenges ahead for farmers needing winter feed because a lot had been lost.

With drought in other parts of the country, New Zealand in general faced issues with lack of winter feed, she said.

Industry leaders and Government were in discussions to address the issue.

Southland farmers affected by the flooding had coped amazingly well, and were getting on with the job, but were tired and had a long way to go, she said.

‘‘There’s a long recovery ahead for a lot of people.’’

The Invercargill City Council has approved $100,000 to help victims of the Southland floods and the Government has committed $200,000, comprising $100,000 for the rural sector and $100,000 for the mayoral flood relief fund.

Bernadette Hunt Southland Federated Farmers vice-president

‘‘Some people have that insurance add-on [to cover fence damage] but it’s not widespread.’’