FMG Is Receiving Claims For Entire Crops Destroyed After Flooding On Farms In The Upper North Island

FMG is receiving claims for entire crops destroyed after flooding on farms in the upper North Island. Head of claims Nicki Mackay says assessors are evaluating damage in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty, but won’t get a complete picture of losses yet as more wet weather is forecast. Road closures have affected assessors’ ability to get to some areas, with the insurer prioritizing areas that were had the worst damage. Te Kohanga dairy farmer Jonelle Hewitt, says they have used four flood pumps to clear water from paddocks from Friday through till Wednesday pumping more than 4 million litres of water per hour into the Waikato River. Rural portfolios executive manager at insurer Vero, Sonya Whitney, said since Saturday a number of rural claims had been received, mostly for damage to houses. DairyNZ farm performance general manager Sarah Speight says such wet weather is unprecedented for this time of year with serious damage to a number of dairy farms in pockets of Northland, south Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty. She says farmers lost fences, races, vehicles, equipment and bridges and had feed crops and stored feed damaged.