| 25 Storm damage focus for Young Farmer finalist Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmers Patrick and Isabelle Crawshaw are relieved to have the power back on and bridges open again but say it will take a lot of careful planning and months of hard work for local farmers to fix all the damage left by Cyclone Gabrielle. In February, the couple evacuated their two young children by helicopter from their Patoka farm, Te Hau Station (250ha effective), after the community was cut off by the cyclone. Remarkably, only a month later, Patrick went on to win the FMG Young Farmer of the Year East Coast contest but he is not putting in too much prep ahead of the Grand Final in July. Understandably, his main concern right now is continuing to assess and work through cyclone damage on the farm. “Obviously, there are a lot of immediate things to be dealt with that make it tricky to give the finals as much as I want,” says Patrick. “What I’m most looking forward to is being able to tap into that wider rural network and the opportunities that creates, as opposed to being solely focussed on winning.” In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, getting the labour needed to fix damaged infrastructure is a big issue for local farmers. Patrick says getting the right resources to the right places is going to be difficult, especially when some in the rural community are reluctant to ask for help. He welcomes the support of groups like Farmy Army and suggests a welldirected, well-coordinated volunteer effort would be invaluable. RURAL PEOPLE » Patrick & Isabelle Crawshaw In the first few weeks after the cyclone, when the bridges were out, a key problem for farmers was how to move stock off farm. Patrick says they helped addressed that by buying a trailer that could drag a stock crate through the local river behind a tractor. It was then made available to everyone in the area. “Over three to four weeks, we moved 3000 lambs and roughly 1000 head of cattle that way. It really helped put some light at the end of the tunnel.” Access over the local Rissington and Dartmoor bridges is back up and running now but Patrick says roads remain very fragile and vulnerable to flooding. As well, stocking rates remain a big issue for cyclone-affected farmers, who have lost grazeable area. With so many fences down, grazing is also harder to manage. “In our case, we went from 58 paddocks to 18, so we don’t have that ability to restrict intakes and feed more accurately than what we would typically like as we go into winter. There is a profitability and productivity loss to that, though it is hard to put a dollar figure on it. Everything is ultimately fixable but it will take time and a lot of planning.” In spite of the difficulties, Patrick and Isabelle are continuing to make a valuable contribution to the ground-breaking Informing NZ Beef (INZB) programme, aimed at boosting the sector’s profits. Their data capture plans were pushed back by a month as a result of the cyclone but most of the genetic and body scoring data needed has now been gathered and entered into their plans. Kim Newth The FMG Young Farmer of the Year Award has had to take a back seat for Hawke’s Bay’s Pat Crawshaw as he works through cyclone damage on his Patoka farm. Izzy and Pat. The couple evacuated their two children by helicopter after the cyclone. www.ruralaerialcoop.co.nz Our Farming Growth rural division is all about supporting rural businesses. We understand farming, the challenges and what it takes to succeed. 06 876 8124 info@pkfcs.co.nz pkfcs.co.nz Rural Accounting Specialists PKF and the Farming Growth team are proud to support Patrick Crawshaw Servicing the Puketapu, Patoka & Puketitiri area for baling, silage & maize, cultivation, drilling, beet / maize planting & earthmoving requirements M 021 308 684 E info@ct.net.nz CT.NET.NZ Supporting Patrick & Izzy Crawshaw from the ground up
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