Cyclone Gabrielle has covered Hawke's Bay farmland and orchards in up to two meters of silt.
The silt was washed down from nearby hills by torrential rain, and forces farmers to work quickly to restore their land.
The Country's Jamie Mackay says there's been research into silt over the last three decades, prompted by an uptick in floods.
According to Jamie Mackay, soil scientist Dr Ants Roberts recommends farmers take samples of silt and send it to a laboratory. Analysing the silt will help farmers figure out how re-establish growth.
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