How Fonterra helped the Northland community after Cyclone Gabrielle

File photo / Christine Cornege

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One year on from Cyclone Gabrielle the picture in Northland is a bit of contrast, says Mike Borrie.

Talking to The Country Breakfast’s Brian Kelly, the Farm Source regional manager in Northland, who was there a year ago and saw first-hand the devastation, said it was a tough time.

“And I can say it’s a bit of a contrast to this time last year, we have had a lot of fine weather, and we are on the lookout for a bit more rain up north at the moment”.

He said the cyclone had a devastating impact not only on Northland but also across Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay.

Power outages and flooding caused major disruption to milking and milk collections, as well as creating significant damage to infrastructure on-farm.

“The recovery is certainly still ongoing.”

However, Fonterra is always there to help when the going gets tough, Borrie said.

He said it was important to recognise that the first responders were neighbours and the local community.

“It was amazing how everyone pitched in to support people in need.”

Northland had a great camaraderie with rural businesses and agencies, where they all worked together to make a difference, Borrie said.

He made special mention of the Northland Rural Support Trust and the Northland Adverse Events team for “all of their work during and post-Cyclone Gabrielle”.

Over 95 events helped to reach over 5000 people.

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“A massive effort by all,” Borrie said.

While the teams at Fonterra always try to do their best, Cyclone Gabrielle proved a challenge, he said.

“The teams had to work hard to re-establish contact and access across Northland, which was the first area hit by the cyclone.”

Borrie praised the Farm Source team, Planning and Dispatch and Transport.

“It was particularly challenging in some places just to even get access to collect milk given the scale of the devastation.”

Some farms in Northland were without power as well, which created more issues.

“There were some farmers without power after the event, for up to 2 weeks,” Borrie said.

“Generators were a well-sought-after commodity and were getting shared between farms and moved throughout the day to ensure the cows were milked.”

He said Farm Source stores took the initiative to support farmers in their own way – such as running the BBQ all day.

“When farmers came in looking for supplies, they could get something to warm their bellies while they were toiling in the weather.”

Borrie said he’d learned an important lesson from the experience.

“Community is the key.

“Supporting each other in a time of crisis is important, whether that be sharing a generator, clearing roads to allow access or just being there to help and support in any way needed.

“We all saw that throughout the country.”

He said people should be as prepared as they possibly could be for an adverse event because “when they come, they come with a fury”.

Borrie said he was really proud of the team’s response to the cyclone.

“I feel a sense of pride that our wider Fonterra and Farm Source team did their bit to help and support not only our co-operative farmers but the wider community.”