New leaders for Insurance Council
The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) has appointed a new president and vice-president.
The country's main farm insurer FMG is encouraging farmers who have suffered quake damage to telephone for advice on making claims.
FMG chief executive Chris Black visited North Canterbury and the South Island east coast to see first-hand the nature and scale of the damage.
Most importantly, he says, farmers must get roofs over their heads, organise food and start milking cows if they are dairy farmers.
He has seen some damaged farm plant that is repairable and some that needs replacing. In Waiau he saw a dairy shed completely wrecked.
Several months or more may elapse before the damage is sorted and things return to normal, Black says. The effects of this quake are different from those caused by the Darfield quake in 2010.
“The land slips are much more severe than at Darfield and access is a much bigger problem than in Canterbury. Some staff are going up from Christchurch and some from Blenheim to meet clients.
“We already have hundreds of claims. We realise people are under stress and for some it was a terrifying experience.”
People are helping each other and pulling together as people do in rural communities, he says. In the case of the farmer whose dairy shed was ruined, his 1000 cows are being milked on other farms in the district.
“We are working with Federated Farmers and Rural Support Trust, seeing a coming together of those groups which happens at a time like this. We can’t do everything ourselves but we can connect people with those who can help.”
Black expects FMG to cover damage to houses, sheds and stock water systems, and business interruption.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.