Flood Impacts on Dairy Farms in the Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand

Abstract

Assessments of past flood damage provide critical information in planning to lessen the future impact of flooding in a future affected by climate change. Recent efforts to improve these assessments often focus on urban environments, which means primary industries such as dairy are ignored. This paper uses a case study of ex-tropical Cyclone Debbie in April 2017 to explore the impact of flooding on dairy farms in the Bay of Plenty region, Aotearoa New Zealand. Debbie caused prolonged river and surface water flooding on over 3,500 hectares of dairy farmland and disrupted normal operations. We talked to farmers and walked with them across their land to understand the damage and discover what they did during the flood and after. Farmers endured a range of damage to their assets, depending on how long their land was under water, how much silt was deposited on their land and the season. Food duration and silt deposition were most important in affecting direct damage to production and capital. Economic loss and impacts on farmer wellbeing were more influenced by the time of the year and the actions implemented at farm-level. How long a farm had been owned and its financial resources, contributed to how well a dairy farm recovered. Limiting economic losses also required access to infrastructure such as transport and electricity. Understanding the interdependencies between farms and infrastructure could deliver strategies for dairy farms to become more resilient in response to future climate change. This would also help the communities and economies that farmers support.