Cyclone Debbie has no lasting impact on winter preparations of farmers in Taranaki
Damaging winds were the final sting in the tail of ex-cyclone Debbie which brought flooding, slips and road closures to remote parts of Taranaki. Roadside flooding at Awakino.
As farmers across the country mop up and count the cost of damage after ex-cyclone Debbie, their Taranaki counterparts are unlikely to be set back by heavy winds and rain, Federated Farmers says.
Taranaki dairy chairman Donald McIntyre said overall rainfall this week had not been enough to impact winter preparations.
"I don't think we got as much rain as we were expecting in the last few days but Taranaki is built for rain anyway," he said
Taranaki Federated Farmers dairy chairman Donald McIntyre says the region is built for rain and a recent drenching won't impact farmers.
"We've got porous soils that drain well and can handle a decent amount of rain. Where it becomes a problem is with depleting nutrients, washing them out of the soil, but farmers are aware of that."
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Warm and wet weather through spring and summer meant farmers had plenty of pasture available for grazing as well as good reserves for winter and cows were milking well, McIntyre said.
Taranaki farmers are cleaning up after strong winds downed trees, overturned equipment and tore through metal roller doors on several farms.
"Drystock farmers also have plenty of feed and there's not a big rush on at the works so they're doing OK for now," he said.
The rain was also likely to suppress facial eczema spores which had begun to climb in recent weeks but lameness could become an issue in extended wet periods, he said.
"It's hard on the cows because they've got soft feet and they're easily hurt but farmers are all in the same situation. If you're seeing lameness in your herd, you're not alone.
"As far as autumns go, it's OK. No-one likes the rain, it's no fun to work in but we can't change it, all we can do is farm with it."
However, the region had not escaped completely unscathed.
Farmers woke to toppled trees and twisted metal after ex-cyclone Debbie took a parting shot at Taranaki on Wednesday night.
Although heavy rain earlier in the week had brought flooding, slips and road closures to the far north and south of the region, farmers in more central areas had escaped the worst of the wet weather.
But after a night of wind gusts over 115 kilometres an hour many woke to damage as Debbie finally departed on Thursday morning, leaving a trail of twisted metal and upturned farm equipment in her wake.
In Opunake and Manaia, metal roller doors on implement sheds were twisted and torn in the wind which also downed trees in Otakeho and Kapuni.
Further north, more trees were toppled and two portable calf shelters were blown over a fence in Stratford.
The Taranaki Regional Council's monitoring station at Cape Egmont recorded a gust just shy of 116kmh shortly after midnight. Wind strength also topped 100kmh at the Taungatara site at Eltham Rd where a 103kmh gust was recorded.
Otakeho's Michelle Hawkes suspected it was a small tornado rather than wind that had whipped through her yard, picking up several items and depositing them in a group.
The wind had also brought down trees with a noise "like I've never heard," Hawkes said.
One had fallen across the farm's tanker track, keeping her husband, Keil, busy clearing up on Thursday.
The wild winds were the ex-cyclone's parting shot for Taranaki after three days of stormy weather in the region, with the eastern hill country bearing the brunt of heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the 36 hours to 8am Wednesday, 155 millimetres fell on Whangamomona, rain gauges in Pohokura recorded 138mm over the same period and the Dawson Falls weather station on Mt Taranaki was saturated by 171mm.
The deluge triggered slips which forced the closure of The Forgotten World Highway, SH43, which runs from Whangamomona to Taumarunui, as well as Mangaowata Rd and Whitianga Rd.
On the other side of Mt Taranaki, North Egmont had 121mm of rain in the same period while Stratford recorded 198mm, Waitara 89mm, Inglewood 83mm.
The flood-prone Waitotara River at the southern edge of the region had authorities, farmers and nearby residents on edge as the river rose on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But with the water level falling on Wednesday afternoon, there was to be no repeat of the damaging floods which forced the evacuation of 100 people in the Waitotara township in 2015.
In the north, the deluge flooded roadside paddocks at Awakino and Uriti and caused slips and road closures, cutting off the main route north through State Highway 3.
- Stuff
