November 2, 2025 • 4 mins
North Canterbury dairy farmer updates on the horrific damage in the Culverden district from the recent wind event.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So for the past week or ten days we've been
concentrating on some of the damage because it's been in
a state of civil emergency in Southland and Southwest Otago.
But of course the other region that was really hammered
was Canterbury, particularly North Canterbury, the colvid In area. Let's
go to the coal face and talk to one of
the farmers yet another friend of Jeremy Rook's. I didn't
(00:22):
realize he had that many Emmlin Francis dairy farmer, couple
of farms up there. How bad was it, Emlin.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I've never seen one like it, Joey, it was next
I couldn't believe it. Where I was driving around with
our daughter and there was trees just exploding. Hindsight it
says we crept. Shouldn't have been driving around with my daughter.
But yeah, it was unbelievable, like one hundred year old
trees just exploding halfway up. It was next level.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, I've seen a picture I think from the Colvidon
area where there's a shout about them. The whole thing
has just laid flat. How far is that from your place?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Just up the road, I think, yeah, just along the road.
We were actually driving up, but we decided to guess
that when the third or fourth three of falling down
across the road, we thought perhaps it was foolish and
went to our farm another direction.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
The trees are one thing. You can grow some new
ones orbit that takes a lot of time and again,
and you've got to chop them up. But from a
financial point of view, the damage done to the pivot irrigators,
how did you fare? And how is the region fared?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I mean absolutely, We've got one of our farms got
an absolute hiding. It has sex sen of pivots on it,
one of which is just a small three hectare spinner,
and that's the only one that stowed up. So we
have a contact. Wef on that farm six hundred and
fifty cows and all the pivots are down, and I
really don't envisage water toil. I'll be really, really thrilled
if we have water the side of Christmas.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Really and you're getting very dry at the moment. This
could not happen at a worse time.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Timing was pretty shit, yeah, Like cows are peaking, we're
just starting making potentially harvesting supplement, all that sort of thing,
you know, it's pretty catastrophic, pretty catastrophic. There was a
video one of our staff took from inside our smugger
room at the cows and I think it made the
stuff for made the news. It was you know, there
(02:03):
was a checkery paddock just absolutely flogging. It was. We
had a French girl working for us who was terrified.
It's absolutely terrified.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I'm hearing reports that some of the farmers haven't got
insurance on their pivot irrigators because the insurance companies won't
ensure them and even if they do, it's too expensive.
What about you.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
We're okay now, but I suspect that that will be
a conversation that will happen down the track. And we're
all so the small fund that took hiding maund considering
summer or you know, some pole springers. We haven't a
heart of a strategy session this week with some consultants
and we'll just just do the mass. I mean, if
you capitalize the capitalize the insurance mems and the insurance
(02:45):
excesses of the time, you can probably justify buying some
more money to put poles in and they don't blow down.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
How do you get up from the ground and dust
yourself off after an event like this, Like you say
you've been farming and that for thirty years, you've never
seen wind like it. I mean, there's nothing to say
that you might see wind like it again next season.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Yeah true, I mean not. What you just do is
you play what you worry about what you can control.
So you know, we're we've we've got all the trees
out of the way, so guys they've got access. We've
got any power that was broken fixed up. We've got
you know, fences fixed and and and get insurance underway,
and the pivot repair of guys underway and the rest
of it. You know, I mean, I don't worry about
(03:28):
many things, and you just you know, you're worry about
what you can try and just and that because your power,
if you're if you're achieving something that you can can achieve,
then you're making progress in that direction.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Are you having any community events like that but a
network and gathering a few bears because a problem shared.
It's an old cliche, I know, but a problem shared
is a problem halved.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Oh, there's no there is that. Like Fed for the
Farmers girl has been awesome organizing I think at farm
source last week which I couldn't get to. But then
it's also another one. I think this far also community barbecue.
Get to get through the fat and tell what stories.
I think that's really important, Like you say, just to
sear the burdens.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Emmlyin Francis, thank you very much for some of your
time to appreciating their thoughts. Go out to you guys
in the North Canterbury region, like Southland and Southwest Otago,
you've been hit hard, but at least you've got the
Canterbury Show or the christ Show to look forward to.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Ah yeah, but I mean you go along there and
kick tires. That's you know, that's We've actually got a
couple of pigs at home which you've entered in the
bar and the Boar's more for the un collos to
go along and drink me and try and find a wife.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Perhaps find a wife and the ball pen. Now, of course,
you know turn up on the Thursday because we're launching
the twenty twenty five makays Are and the Emerson's Tiny Pub.
I'll look forward to meeting you there.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Perfect No, thanks very much, got to don't
So for the past week or ten days we've been
concentrating on some of the damage because it's been in
a state of civil emergency in Southland and Southwest Otago.
But of course the other region that was really hammered
was Canterbury, particularly North Canterbury, the colvid In area. Let's
go to the coal face and talk to one of
the farmers yet another friend of Jeremy Rook's. I didn't
(00:22):
realize he had that many Emmlin Francis dairy farmer, couple
of farms up there. How bad was it, Emlin.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I've never seen one like it, Joey, it was next
I couldn't believe it. Where I was driving around with
our daughter and there was trees just exploding. Hindsight it
says we crept. Shouldn't have been driving around with my daughter.
But yeah, it was unbelievable, like one hundred year old
trees just exploding halfway up. It was next level.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Yeah, I've seen a picture I think from the Colvidon
area where there's a shout about them. The whole thing
has just laid flat. How far is that from your place?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Just up the road, I think, yeah, just along the road.
We were actually driving up, but we decided to guess
that when the third or fourth three of falling down
across the road, we thought perhaps it was foolish and
went to our farm another direction.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
The trees are one thing. You can grow some new
ones orbit that takes a lot of time and again,
and you've got to chop them up. But from a
financial point of view, the damage done to the pivot irrigators,
how did you fare? And how is the region fared?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I mean absolutely, We've got one of our farms got
an absolute hiding. It has sex sen of pivots on it,
one of which is just a small three hectare spinner,
and that's the only one that stowed up. So we
have a contact. Wef on that farm six hundred and
fifty cows and all the pivots are down, and I
really don't envisage water toil. I'll be really, really thrilled
if we have water the side of Christmas.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Really and you're getting very dry at the moment. This
could not happen at a worse time.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Timing was pretty shit, yeah, Like cows are peaking, we're
just starting making potentially harvesting supplement, all that sort of thing,
you know, it's pretty catastrophic, pretty catastrophic. There was a
video one of our staff took from inside our smugger
room at the cows and I think it made the
stuff for made the news. It was you know, there
(02:03):
was a checkery paddock just absolutely flogging. It was. We
had a French girl working for us who was terrified.
It's absolutely terrified.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I'm hearing reports that some of the farmers haven't got
insurance on their pivot irrigators because the insurance companies won't
ensure them and even if they do, it's too expensive.
What about you.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
We're okay now, but I suspect that that will be
a conversation that will happen down the track. And we're
all so the small fund that took hiding maund considering
summer or you know, some pole springers. We haven't a
heart of a strategy session this week with some consultants
and we'll just just do the mass. I mean, if
you capitalize the capitalize the insurance mems and the insurance
(02:45):
excesses of the time, you can probably justify buying some
more money to put poles in and they don't blow down.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
How do you get up from the ground and dust
yourself off after an event like this, Like you say
you've been farming and that for thirty years, you've never
seen wind like it. I mean, there's nothing to say
that you might see wind like it again next season.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Yeah true, I mean not. What you just do is
you play what you worry about what you can control.
So you know, we're we've we've got all the trees
out of the way, so guys they've got access. We've
got any power that was broken fixed up. We've got
you know, fences fixed and and and get insurance underway,
and the pivot repair of guys underway and the rest
of it. You know, I mean, I don't worry about
(03:28):
many things, and you just you know, you're worry about
what you can try and just and that because your power,
if you're if you're achieving something that you can can achieve,
then you're making progress in that direction.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Are you having any community events like that but a
network and gathering a few bears because a problem shared.
It's an old cliche, I know, but a problem shared
is a problem halved.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Oh, there's no there is that. Like Fed for the
Farmers girl has been awesome organizing I think at farm
source last week which I couldn't get to. But then
it's also another one. I think this far also community barbecue.
Get to get through the fat and tell what stories.
I think that's really important, Like you say, just to
sear the burdens.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Emmlyin Francis, thank you very much for some of your
time to appreciating their thoughts. Go out to you guys
in the North Canterbury region, like Southland and Southwest Otago,
you've been hit hard, but at least you've got the
Canterbury Show or the christ Show to look forward to.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Ah yeah, but I mean you go along there and
kick tires. That's you know, that's We've actually got a
couple of pigs at home which you've entered in the
bar and the Boar's more for the un collos to
go along and drink me and try and find a wife.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Perhaps find a wife and the ball pen. Now, of course,
you know turn up on the Thursday because we're launching
the twenty twenty five makays Are and the Emerson's Tiny Pub.
I'll look forward to meeting you there.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Perfect No, thanks very much, got to don't
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