“He was a big part of the community and the school board of trustees for years.
“Everyone’s shaken by what happened.”
Acland also said Allen’s contribution to the freshwater and biodiversity space was significant.
He revealed it wasn’t just farmers that respected him, but also environmental groups.
“His contribution was massive outside and beyond the farm gate,” he said.
Former Minister of Agriculture and Labour’s current trade spokesperson Damien O’Connor worked closely with Allen during the Mid Canterbury floods. He paid tribute to Allen, saying he was shocked and saddened by his death.
“It’s very, very tragic and my sympathy goes out to his family, of course who will be struggling with this,” O’Connor told The Country.
Former Ashburton Mayor Angus McKay said he was “very, very sad to hear the news”.
“When trying to convince people of the way forward he had a wonderful intellect that used factual scientific information along with history of what not to do,” McKay said.
McKay recalled how Allen led the Ashburton River rating zone, which “provided protection for surrounding farming families to make the river less likely to flood their homes”.
