Why are Federated Farmer involved in adverse events?
Federated Farmers have always played an important role in adverse events. We really care about our farmers and rural communities so when an adverse event occurs, we get involved and do all we can to support them during and after an adverse event (Response & Recovery).
We have members and provincial teams throughout all areas of New Zealand, therefore in a time critical event we can gather reliable and accurate intel and information, with a moment's notice, from those on the ground who are in the thick of it. This sets us apart from other organisations.
What’s our role during an adverse event?
Federated Farmers have an adverse event unit on standby 24/7, we closely monitor events as they unfold, calculate risks through our extensive network of 24 provincial teams throughout New Zealand. We also work closely with government agencies and other NGO’s.
An adverse event is broken into the following two phases:
Response
In our response team we have team members experienced in crisis management that have up to date CIMs qualifications.
Before and during an event our response unit calculates:
- Magnitude of the event (likelihood and scale of the physical impact)
- Capacity of the community to cope (economic and social impact)
We deploy our response unit and consult with:
- Our regional executive teams
- Rural Support Trusts
- Relevant regional and district councils
- Local Civil Defence Emergency Management groups
- Levy Industry organisations (B+LNZ, DairyNZ, Deer IndustryNZ etc.)
- Government agencies
Recovery
Here we coordinate a longer-term recovery effort that will restore economic and social health to rural communities safely and swiftly, we provide mentors or colleagues from rural backgrounds to talk over problems and advocate for financial assistance.
We deploy our recovery unit and consult with:
- Our regional executive teams
- Rural Support Trusts
- Relevant regional and district councils
- Farmy Army
- Local Civil Defence Emergency Management groups
- Industry organisations
- Government agencies
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand
- Welfare Agencies: Red Cross, Rural Women and Churches
- Contractors, Helicopter Operators
Help and Information/ Resources
DairyNZ
The DairyNZ website has tools and information for managing your dairy farm during various adverse events as well as tools on planning ahead.
They also have resources for farms experiencing low pasture growth due to high rainfall and how to future proof your system for coming seasons.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has various Tool kits available on their website for drought, floods and Mycoplasma Bovis.
They have additional information on animal welfare, supplementary feeding, and planning ahead.
Staff Management
If you find yourself in a position of financial hardship due to an adverse event you may need advice on what to do with staff if you can't continue to pay them during this period. For our members, you can call 0800 327 646 who can connect you to the Member Employment Lawyer free service.
Alternatively, you can see the redundancy and other employment factsheets available on our Employment Guides (fedfarm.org.nz) page.
For non-members, you can contact the Rural Support Trust for more advice and information or an independent lawyer.
Government Support
When adverse events occur certain recovery measures (depending on the scale of the event) are available.
For more information on this assistance...