Kia ora,

No amount of forewarning or planning could have prepared us for the true impact of Cyclone Gabrielle and in particular just where and how hard it would hit. It is incredible to think of the speed and extent of destruction that the country has endured and in particular the regions of Northland, the East Coast and Hawke’s Bay. It will take many years for affected land and waterways, businesses and families to recover. 

Our wider Silver Fern Farms family have also borne a significant brunt of this force of nature with many of our people displaced, isolated and without power or means of communicating. Farmers in these regions will still be grappling with the extent of the damage to their land and livelihoods.

Our priority is to ensure the wellbeing of our people and to quickly ensure that we support and reconnect individuals and communities as the clean-up begins. 

The water has receded at Dargaville and the recovery phase is now underway. Our Pacific site in Hawke’s Bay remains without power and has a large amount of sediment from the flood on the ground. The team are still assessing the condition of key infrastructure, however the flood waters have managed to recede. Of course, any damage to our sites pales in significance to the impact on communities in affected areas. 

It’s been humbling to see the positive efforts by our Silver Fern Farms whānau, many of whom are simply using their initiative and doing what’s right. Over the last few days product has been dropped off to volunteer rescuers and those who are in shelters, and there’s more product planned to be delivered to our rural communities and farmers in the next few days.

On Wednesday our team delivered 3,000kg of product to Meat the Need to support food banks across the country, and another 3,000kg of product went to communities in Hawke’s Bay. In reality, the full list of initiatives is much longer than this, and I know there’s more planned for the days ahead.

Silver Fern Farms is actively working through ways the business can wrap more support around our people, our communities, and our farmers who have been affected, and we’ll have more to share on this next week.

While we are now moving into recovery mode, the priority is still to ensure our people are safe. 

Thank you for your understanding while we work to restore processing at affected sites and keep livestock moving off farm. Talk to your Silver Fern Farms Livestock Rep if you have animals that need to be moved urgently. 

Though the waters may be receding, the impact of the last week will be felt for a long time to come.

 

Kia kaha.

 

Simon Limmer

Chief Executive

 

 

 

In this week’s report:

- An update on North Island Processing Capability

- Farm Gate Pricing Outlook through to April 

- Beef, Sheepmeats and Venison Market Reports

 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MARKET REPORT