Council help for farms to clean up stock deaths

In my time in farming we had to endure our share of weather related disasters, which included the two major snowfalls of 1992 in Canterbury.

As the help system activates in Southland and South Otago, thinking back what is most important issue, was help for a quick clean up of the dead stock in the aftermath of the storms.

Viewing dead stock for days as tired shepherds endeavour to keep the rest alive, is damaging mentally.

It is a tough time consuming physical job disposing of many hundreds of dead capital stock, and assistance in this area is most appreciated.

Most farmers will be embarrassed by the well meaning food packages, but would welcolme help in the grisly task of  stock disposal.

Once that job is done farmers can start to plan the future of how they can survive with less stock and plan management around this crisis.

Environment Southland is working with farmers to provide advice on how best to cope with the aftermath of last week's calamitous storm. The council has suspended enforcement activities and is giving guidance on how to dispose of dead stock. Council resource planner Michael Bennett said the storm was probably the worst disaster to hit the rural community in a generation reports The Southland Times.

To help ease the pressure the council was helping farmers with the disposal of dead stock in a hole, he said. Ideally there should be about half a metre of unsaturated soil between the top of groundwater and the base of the hole. If no dry ground was available carcasses must be buried in a way that did not affect groundwater end users, which was normally about 200m away, he said.

Compliance manager Mark Hunter said his staff had suspended regular enforcement activities including on-site inspections, instead focusing on advising farmers on how best to manage the crisis. His staff were helping farmers with full effluent ponds and advising how best to dispose of it, he said. In some cases it was possible for farmers to discharge effluent on land outside the area included on their consent.