Adverse event information and support for Farmers and Rural Communities
What is an adverse event?
- Storms
- Droughts
- Floods
- Snowstorms
- Volcanic eruptions
- Earthquakes
- Biosecurity incursions.
Why are Federated Farmer involved in adverse events?
The main reason is the care and concern of rural communities, we also have members and presidents literally all-over New Zealand, so in a crisis we are not relying on anecdotal information – we have elected representatives (our 24 Presidents) and their executive teams. This means we have the most reliable intel gathering network in a crisis - at a moment’s notice. It also means that we are nationally informed immediately at a provincial level, this sets us apart from all other organisations in a time critical event.
What’s our role during an adverse event?
Federated Farmers have an adverse event unit on standby 24/7, we closely monitor events as they unfold, calculate risks through our extensive network of 24 presidents throughout New Zealand, we also work closely with government agencies and other NGO’s.
In an adverse event Federated Farmers does not distinguish members and non-members.
An adverse event is broken in to two phases
- Response
- Recovery
Response
In our response team we have team members experienced in crisis management and have up to date CIMMs qualifications.
Before and during an event our response unit calculates:
- Magnitude of the event (likelihood and scale of the physical impact)
- Capacity of the community to cope (economic and social impact).
We deploy our response unit and consult with:
- Our regional executive teams
- Rural support trusts
- Relevant regional and district councils
- Local civil defence emergency management groups
- Industry organisations
- Government agencies.
Recovery
Here we coordinate a longer-term recovery effort that will restore economic and social health to rural communities safely and swiftly, we provide mentors or colleagues from rural backgrounds to talk over problems and advocate for financial assistance.
We deploy our recovery unit and consult with:
- Our regional executive teams
- Rural support trusts
- Relevant regional and district councils
- Farmy Army
- Local civil defence emergency management groups
- Industry organisations
- Government agencies.
- Civil Defence Emergency Management Group
(existing response and recovery plans available or developing)
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand
- Welfare Agencies: Red Cross, Rural Women and Churches
- Specialist Groups: Search and Rescue, Transport Operators
- Contractors, Helicopter Operators.
If you are affected by an adverse event
Keep in touch with your Rural Support Trust via 0800 787 254 if you need assistance. For more information of the Feed and Grazing Coordination Service. This line is open to all rural people, not just farm and business owners.
Government Support
When adverse events occur, whether a local scale emergency declaration in an area or a medium scale event or larger that is declared by the Ministry for Primary Industries, certain recovery measures (depending on the scale of the event) are available. For more information on this assistance,
click here
DairyNZ
The DairyNZ website has tools and information for managing your dairy farm through drought as well more tools on planning ahead. They also have resources for farms experiencing low pasture growth due to high rainfall and how to future proof your system for coming seasons.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has an Extreme Dry Management Tool kit available on their website for drystock farmers, as well as additional information on animal welfare, supplementary feeding, and planning ahead.
Staff Management
As is the case in these situations, due to the financial hardship of drought, you may need advice on what to do with staff if you can't continue to pay them during this period. For our members, you can call 0800 327 646 who can connect you to the Member Employment Lawyer free service. Alternatively, you can see the redundancy and other employment factsheets available on our Employment Guides (fedfarm.org.nz) page. For non-members, you can contact the Rural Support Trust for more advice and information or an independent lawyer.