Developed in response to previous flood events, these three factsheets – Preparing for a Flood, Recovering from a Flood, and Health and Safety Post-Flood – are guidelines to help farmers prepare for rain events and deal with both the immediate and long-term consequences.
For farmers operating in flood-prone areas, the Preparing for a Flood factsheet gives farmers a checklist on what to do in an extreme rain event as well as outlining measures to help mitigate production losses due to flooding.
The Recovering from a Flood factsheet covers four aspects of the business; people, livestock, operational and land; and provides timelines and action-plans around each. This factsheet includes a decision tree and a detailed guide for re-grassing sediment.
The Health and Safety Post-Flood outlines farmers’ responsibilities when dealing with a volunteer workforce, covers-off the regulatory requirements for farmers and volunteers- and provides practical advice on ensuring everyone’s safety in what can be a dangerous environment.
B+LNZ’s senior extension manager Aaron Meikle says the factsheets will help farmers organise their thinking during a flood event. They deal with every aspect of the business and will help farmers set priorities during a stressful time.
The Health and Safety factsheet will help ensure farmers are meeting their regulatory requirements when using casual or volunteer labour.
These resources can be downloaded from the ‘Factsheets’ area of the Knowledge Hub by using the keyword ‘flood’ in the search bar.