New Zealand earthquake impacts local farmers

Nov 14, 2016

The earthquake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

An earthquake measuring 7.5 (out of 10) on the Richter scale hit parts of New Zealand over the weekend and it appears dairy farmers were significantly impacted.

According to NZ Herald, about 30 farms won’t have milk picked up due to road access. Some farmers are sharing resources to get their cows milked.

“It’s got to be done, dairy farmer Justin Slattery told NZ Herald. “Especially at this time of year the cows are in peak production. So you just have to keep milking them.”

Slattery said, when the earthquake hit, his cows began “moaning and groaning.”

Slattery said he’s using his neighbour’s milking shed to milk his 520 cows and will continue to do so until power is restored at his farm. The farming community is showing it can rally and rebound when faced with adversity.

“Everyone is pitching in. Farmers are being bloody generous actually and pitching in, sharing generators and helping out where is needed,” he said.

The earthquake triggered a number of landslides, and at least one resulted in farm animals being stranded.

Captured footage shows three cows isolated on a patch of land surrounded by destruction from the quake.

On his Facebook page, Chris Brown, a celebriary veterinarian from Australia, said rescue efforts are underway to save the animals.

According to the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, about 95 per cent of the country’s milk is exported and is valued at NZ$13.7 billion (US$9.7 billion).

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.