Cyclone

Stop and reassess priorities:

• Ask yourself, “Does this task really need to be done today?”
• Delay or cancel non-essential work (fert spreading, fencing, cultivation, spraying).
• Change plans early rather than pushing on into worsening conditions.

Communicate with the team clearly and often:

• Brief everyone at the start of the day: weather risks, changed plans, areas to avoid.
• Maintain regular check-ins (especially if you are working alone).
• Ensure everyone knows: who to contact, what to do if conditions deteriorate, emergency procedures.
• Check in with your neighbours.

Good communication prevents people from trying to “push through” alone.

Reduce exposure to risk:

• Match people and tasks to conditions.
• Avoid: slopes when wet, river crossings in heavy rain, working under trees or near power lines in high winds.
• Shorten work periods in extreme cold or wind.
• Rotate tasks to reduce fatigue and cold stress.

Use the right gear and personal protective equipment (PPE):

• Waterproof, windproof clothing.
• Warm layers.
• Non-slip footwear.
• High-visibility gear in low visibility.
• Dry spare clothes available on the farm.

Cold, wet affected people make poorer decisions.

Machinery and vehicle precautions:

• Reduce vehicle use where possible.
• Stick to known tracks – avoid paddocks and soft ground.
• Lower speeds; allow longer stopping distances.
• No machinery on steep or slippery slopes.
• Park up machinery if conditions become unsafe If you have to question whether it’s safe – It probably isn’t.

Working alone controls:

• Avoid lone work in high-risk conditions where possible.
• If unavoidable: Set strict check-in times, share exact location and task, ensure phone or radio coverage.
• Have a clear “what if I don’t check in” plan.

Fatigue and decision-making:

• Adverse weather increases: physical fatigue, mental load, likelihood of mistakes.
• Manage this by: Shorter days, extra breaks, warm/dry rest areas, and encouraging people to speak up if they are struggling.

Emergency procedures:

Make sure: emergency numbers are known, First Aid kits are stocked and accessible, access routes are clear (or alternatives planned), livestock evacuation or shelter plans are understood if flooding is likely.

Lead by example:

Managers and owners should: be visible in choosing safety or speed, back workers who stop unsafe work, avoid “just get it done’ language in bad conditions.

Culture matters the most during tough weather.

Post weather review:

• Talk through what worked and what didn’t.
• Update farm SOPs if needed.
• Fix hazards exposed by the weather (slips, tracks, fencing).

If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out for help today. There is a huge amount of support on hand. Try contacting the groups below.

• Rural Support Trust
• Victim Support - natural disaster support
• Local Civil Defense groups

Act early – before the conditions deteriorate

• Makes decisions early, not once flooding or high winds arrive.
• Move animals before access routes are cut or paddocks flooded.
• Cyclones last days, not hours – plan for prolonged disruptions.
• Plan how cows will be milked and supplied with water if prolonged power outage e.g. do you have access to a generator?

Early movement saves animals, reduces losses and avoids panic decisions.

Move stock to the safest available areas

• Shift stock early to high ground, well-drained paddocks, areas less prone to flooding or slips.
• Remove animal from river flats, flood plains, creek margins.
• Avoid paddocks where stock could be trapped by rising water

Youngstock, calves and calving cows should be top priority.

Provide shelter from wind and rain

• Use natural shelters (trees, banks) if safe from falling limbs.
• Use buildings or sheds only if: structurally sound, not flood-prone, well ventilated.
• Avoid overcrowding – animals need space to lie down and move.

Ensure continuous access to feed

• Except grazing disruption.
• Secure supplementary feed supplies ahead of time.
• Feed on: firm ground, sacrifice area if needed.
• Avoid feeding in deep mud or flood-affected areas.

Cold and wet stress dramatically increases energy needs.

Secure water supply

• Check all water system before the cyclone: pumps, power supply, gravity systems.
• Pre-pare backup options: mobile troughs, tank water.
• After flooding: assume water is contaminated, clean and flush trough promptly.

Animals will not maintain intake without clean water.

Protect calves and vulnerable stock

• Move calves early to: dry, draft-free shelters, areas safe from flooding.
• Ensure: plenty of dry bedding, extra milk or nutrition if cold stress occurs.
• Increase monitoring – chilling and scours risk increases sharply.

Adjust milking expectations

• Do not move cows through floodwaters or debris.
• Consider: Delayed milkings, Once-a-day milkings, temporarily stopping milking if access becomes unsafe.
• Avoid injuries from slips, falls, and fatigue.

Short-term production loss is preferable to injuries, deaths or disease.

Minimise stress and handling

• Avoid unnecessary handling once the adverse weather hits.
• Keep groups stable – don’t mix mobs.
• Let animals rest and lie down where possible.

Monitor animal health during the event (if safe to do so)

Watch for: hypothermia, injury from debris or slips, cows going down, calving difficulties.

Intervene only where safe and necessary

After the adverse weather passes

Immediate

• Account for all animals.
• Assess injuries and animal welfare issues.
• Identify trapped or isolated stock.
• Dispose of any dead stock.

Short-term actions

• Treat wounds and lameness early.
• Watch for: mastitis, pneumonia, metabolic issues.
• Gradually return to normal routines.

On-going

• Repair tracks, fences, troughs.
• Adjust feeding to address body condition score loss.
• Review what worked and update adverse weather plans.

In an emergency, human and animal welfare takes precedent over TB movement controls and NAIT records. Call OSPRI on 0800 482 463 for advice specific to your situation.

• If your usual pre-movement testing cannot be completed, you may have the option of requesting an exemption to pre-movement testing. The animals can then move legally under an official permit and OSPRI will schedule post-movement testing at the animal’s new location. Permits can be requested by phoning 0800 482 463. More information can be found on the OSPRI website.

Cull cows

Meatworks might be operating at reduced capacity, contact your stock agent or processor early for advice on bookings and delays.

For specific rules in your region, refer to Federated Farmers regional rules on stock burial and offal pits.

After a flood, animals are often stressed leading to a weakened immune system which increases the risk of them becoming sick. Wet conditions are also the perfect environment for bacteria and insects to thrive. Monitor your animals closely for any signs of diseases such as lameness, mastitis, leptospirosis, and blackleg.

For animal welfare advice or assistance, contact MPI's animal welfare on 0800 00 83 33, your local vet or our humane slaughter guidelines.

Lameness can increase within 1-3 weeks of severe wet weather. If you are concerned, or if 10% or more of your herd is lame, contact your vet. Visit our lameness webpage for more information on lameness prevention, identification, and treatment.

• You may see an increase in mastitis or different mastitis to usual, if cows have been exposed to flood waters or silt.
• SCC will be higher when milking frequency is reduced or milkings are missed and typically takes 2 to 5 days to fall below 400,000 cells/ml depending on the period without milking and the SCC of the herd prior to the changes in milking frequency.
• Where possible introduce stripping before putting cups on to optimise your clinical mastitis surveillance. An increase in clinical mastitis cases is typically seen in quarters not milked for 36-48 hours or more. In DairyNZ trials, a quarter of the cows not milked for 7 days developed mastitis. Higher levels are likely in commercial herds. Vigilance is essential for the long-term health and productivity of the herd and for food safety.
• SCC typically take 2 to 5 days to fall below 400,000 cells/ml depending on the period without milking and the SCC of the herd prior to the changes in milking frequency.
• Spray teats thoroughly. Stock are likely to be confined to smaller areas than usual and so udders will be dirty. Attention to hygiene is very important, and teats should be sprayed teats manually after each milking to ensure complete coverage.

DairyNZ research has shown that delays of up to a week can be tolerated by mid-lactation herds, and with careful handling, they can return to full or near-full milk production.

• Use our farm systems thinking approach to see if you are ready to resume milking after an adverse event.

• If you need to dry cows off, do what you can to reduce their feed intake and milk production first. For cows producing over 10 L/day (>1.0 kg MS/day), reduce feed intake by 30-50% for a week before dry off. Reduce intake to 'Maintenance' for 7-14 days after last milking for all cows.
• Speak to your vet about whether your usual approach to dry cow therapy should be adjusted.
• Visit our drying off abruptly webpage for more information.

Business continuity planning

• Identify critical business functions: milking, feed supply, effluent management, staff accommodation. Is there access to a generator to keep cows milked, fenced and watered along with chilling milk and pumping effluent plus showers and meals for people on farm?
• Describe what can stop without long-term damage.
• Set clear decision rules (e.g. when milking stops, when contractors are cancelled)

Aim: reduce reactive decision-making under stress.

Financial and cashflow readiness

• Build short-term cash resilience: ensure working capital is available, delay non-essential spending where possible.
• Identify upcoming payments (wages, feed, power).
• Talk early to: bank, accountant, key suppliers (feed, parts)

Insurance and documentation

• Review insurance: livestock, infrastructure, feed and supplements.
• Understand: what is covered, what documentation is required.
• Back up: Farm maps, stock records, financial data, insurance policies (cloud storage is great for this).

Infrastructure risk assessment

• Identify high-risk assets: dairy shed, power supply, effluent system, water supply, feed storage.
• Take low-cost preventative actions: secure tanks, covers, bale stacks, clear drains and effluent overflows, move mobile equipment to safe areas.

Damage prevention is cheaper than repair.

Feed and supply chain certainty

• Confirm: feed on hand, delivery timelines.
• Expect: transport disruption, contractor delays, power outages.
• Increase buffer feed if possible.

Staff and employment considerations

Confirm how staff will be: paid if work is disrupted, supported if accommodation is affected.

Shift focus from production to resilience

• Accept: production losses and routine non-compliance risks.
• Prioritise: Long-term business viability and core assets.
• Avoid decisions that create long-tail costs (injuries, infrastructure damage).

Keep records as events occur

• Log: dates and times, damages as they occur (photos if safe), missed milkings, lost feed or stock.
• This simplifies insurance claims and discussions with processors.

Manage regulatory risks pragmatically

• If compliance risks arise (e.g. effluent issues): minimise environmental harm, document decisions and conditions.
• Councils generally expect reasonable judgement under extreme events, especially when records exist.

Communicate early and often

• Maintain contact with: milk company, contractors, bank or advisors (if impacts are significant).
• Clear communication reduces disputes and penalties later

Rapid damage assessment

• Prioritise inspection of: dairy shed and power, effluent infrastructure, water systems, feed storage.
• Identify: immediate repairs, temporary workarounds, costs and timelines.

Insurance and financial action

• Lodge insurance claims early.
• Provide: photos, stock losses, feed damages.
• Update cashflow forecasts to reflect: lost production, repair costs, additional feed needs.

Reset production expectations

• Work with: farm consultant, processor.
• Adjust: Milking frequency, feeding plans, season goals.
• Focus on recovery and condition not “catch up”.

Staff well-being and retention

• Debrief with team.
• Acknowledge stress and fatigue.
• Consider: time off once safe, adjusted workloads, flexible expectations.

Strong business recovery protects business continuity

Compliance and reporting follow-up

• Notify council or regulators if required.
• Show: reasonable steps, evidence of mitigation, corrective actions taken.
• Transparency reduces enforcement risk.

Review and strengthen the business for next time

• Identify: infrastructure vulnerabilities, feed supply weakness, financial pressure points.
• Update: adverse weather plans, insurance cover, capital priorities.

Extreme events often reveal where to invest next.

Work and Income are able to help with Civil Defence payments to cover emergency food, clothing and bedding if yours has been damaged or destroyed by the cyclone, if you've had to leave your home, experiencing a loss of income because you can't work due to the cyclone.
Find more information on the Work and Income website.

• Find a Certified Dairy Farm Systems consultant on the NZIPIM website.
• Work and Income may be able to assist with housing, food, bedding, clothing, loss of income, or other urgent costs. Check their site to view eligibility.

All banks have said they may be able to adjust loan payments, extend overdrafts and work with clients impacted. Farmers should have a conversation with their bank manager as soon as they can to understand what is available.

• BNZ: Severe weather support
• ASB: Extreme weather and flood relief support
• Westpac: Westpac extends relief options to customers

• IRD - Natural disasters, adverse and emergency events
• IRD - income equalisation schemes

1. Check your cash and overdraft position to see if there is sufficient leeway.
2. Estimate of money required for business continuity – e.g. feed purchase and repairs and maintenance.
3. Talk to your banker as soon as possible - topics with your banker may include debt position, deferring payments, loan restructure, interest only, cashflow and overdraft facilities.
4. Engage with your insurance provider as a priority as this can impact your financial position. Find more information on the FMG website.
5. Complete Cashflow for 22/23 season ensuring that your current cash position is as accurate as possible. Visit our budgeting webpage for more info and tools.

If you have queries about milk quality and grading get in contact with our Farmer Support team on 0800 65 65 68

Top Tips:

1. Lodge your claim as soon as you can
2. Take photos
3. Make emergency repairs
4. Assess your contents
5. Assess farm fencing, bridges, culverts
6. Dispose of contaminated food and feed
7. Contact your insurance provider for advice on damaged vehicles

If your insurance provider is FMG see here for advice.

If you are in a situation where milk production has been reduced significantly and it looks like the milk income will substantially reduced below the expected target, talk to your farm owner about the situation in the first instance. If you are a contract milker and your contract as a guaranteed minimum return clause, you could be entitled to an advanced payment or to being paid up to the GMR value at the end of the season but be sure to signal this early. Also, discuss the option of working off the farm if this would be an option for additional income.

For all share farmers, if milk production has ceased and this is likely to continue for 60 days or more (this period applies to Federated Farmers contracts, this may be different in different agreements), force majeure may be relied upon to terminate the contract. Force majeure is a common clause in a contract which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event occurs. However, before the contract is cancelled, the party wishing to terminate the agreement needs to have endeavoured to find an acceptable alternative. Either party may choose to cancel the contract under this clause.

As always, seek legal advice, have conversations early, keep a record of the conversation in writing (minutes and email) and consult expert advice at every stage. If you are a Federated Farmers member, use the 0800 legal service to discuss your options further.