54 | RURAL PEOPLE » Gary and Jess Omlo - Sherry Farm Sherry River deluge tests farming resilience Gary and wife Jess milk a herd of 640 cows at Sherry Farm. Kim Newth Sherry River contract milker Gary Omlo had only recently joined Federated Farmers provincial executive when successive rain storms flooded the Nelson Tasman region. Many farms were hit hard back in June/July, but Gary says it was inspiring to see how quickly Federated Farmers and the rural community rallied around flood-affected farmers. Gary and wife Jess, who milk a herd of 640 cows at Sherry Farm (240ha-effective) near Tapawera, had to move fast the first time the river flooded, engulfing one of their run-offs with 100 cows on it. Luckily, they were able to cut the fence and get the cows out in time, with temporary refuge found on some higher ground owned by a local contractor. Another 400-cow grazing block was also flooded out. “Fortunately, where those 400 cows were – across the river – didn’t get affected. I was in a Federated Farmers Conference in Christchurch, but I’d told our guys back on the farm to feed out ahead of time because we could see what was coming. The dairy farm sustained a bit of damage too; we spent two days tidying up fences adjacent to the Sherry River. “The farm’s new owners – Andrew and Vanessa Wilkinson – had only just moved in when the second flood hit. It went right through their house. We were away on holiday in the North Island at the time – I never felt so helpless when I saw what was For all your Transport and Logistics requirements 03 525 9843 | www.sollys.co.nz Freight | Storage | Bulk Cartage Livestock | Stock Feed | Fertiliser Proudly supporting Gary Omlo - Sherry Farm TRANSPORT LIMITED • Stock Feed - PKE, Cereal grains, baleage, hay • Lime / Fertiliser • General Freight for a competitive quote! Contact Guy 027 297 7455 happening. That flood took out a bridge and damaged another one, along with a lot of fences. Our old homestead on piles didn’t get flooded but it went through the shed and left a lot of debris through the paddocks.” The 400-cow grazing block was also hit again with those cows having to come back early to the home farm, joined also by the cows from the other wintering block. Gary says offers of help and support started coming in almost immediately. A friend of his with spare crop offered to take some cows. Others rang to offer help with clearing fence lines. Federated Farmers were calling everyone to check if they were okay and needed anything. “Our provincial president Kerry Irvine did a fantastic job and the Rural Support team were here too. We had the Tasman Valley Young Farmers offering help. It was great seeing the community come together.” At time of writing, farm fences were up again at Sherry Farm and calving was in full swing. Some remaining clean-up work had been postponed until after calving. Andrew and Vanessa’s house was still drying out. Like everyone else on farm, Gary says they’re making the best of it, getting stuck in and staying positive despite the setbacks. Gary began his working life as a butcher, then worked in forestry for some years before following his dairy dream. He started out as a junior assistant at Sherry Farm and is now in his thirteenth season there. Jess grew up with her family’s sheep shearing business but readily made the transition to dairy farming and is about to finish her AI apprenticeship. In spite of the challenging winter, Gary says calving has stayed on track and there’s plenty of supplement on hand as the farm bounces back and pastures recover.
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