Flooding

Before the storm

• Assign staff and family to secure homes, then farm buildings.
  • Store or tie down anything that might blow away
  • Turn off gas appliances and tanks
  • Turn off the electric power to avoid surges
• Consider a farm 'safe spot' where provisions and first aid are available, and it is at the lowest risk of being impacted by the event.
• Where possible, shift stock to higher ground that is sheltered, secure, and away from trees or buildings.
• Determine the extent of the weather event, and make plans so there is sufficient availability of feed and fresh water for livestock.
• Park machinery on higher ground, and well away from buildings and trees that may blow over.
• Have tarpaulins, plastic covers, and ropes ready.
• Tune in to the local radio station.
• Keep a watch on Civil Defence and local council web pages, and relevant social media.
• Ensure phones are charged and agree on the use of technology for on-farm communication - cell phone, radio telephones, etc.
• Check in with your neighbour(s) to ensure they are also prepared.

Immediate actions

• Ensure the ongoing safety of your family, the farm team, and their families.
• During flooding events, focus first on animal safety, access to clean water, and maintaining feed intake. Production and milking routines can be recovered later - protecting rumen function and body condition is critical.
• Where electricity supply is disrupted and/or fence power units and fences are damaged, use temporary or portable electric fencing to ensure stock remain contained.
• Check power and phones. Where applicable, report outages.
• If safe, turn off damaged electrical equipment.
• Monitor flood pumps and clear blockages only if it is safe to do so.
• Where safe, check on neighbours - especially elderly, isolated, or vulnerable people. Coordinate support: do they need help, or can they assist you?
• Where safe, check dogs, poultry, and pets.
• Where safe, check buildings at risk, feed stacks, and move equipment and feed to higher ground.
• Use generators if necessary to keep pumps (including stock water), refrigeration, electric fences and household appliances running.
• Avoid entering floodwater or damaged structures, and keep clear of downed powerlines, unstable trees, or slipping ground.
• Stay tuned to Civil Defence updates and follow official instructions.
• When possible, advise your dairy company of:
  • milking disruptions
  • tanker access issues
  • road blockages
  • animal welfare concerns that may impact pickup or volume
• Document and take photographs of any significant damage for insurance or recovery claims.
• Share accurate information with team members as the situation changes.

Emergency feeding guidance

• Priority is to keep cows fed and maintain rumen fill. Production is secondary during flood events – underfeeding will lead to rapid body condition loss, negative energy balance, and metabolic issues.
• If feeding supplements on flooded or muddy ground, allow for high wastage. Larger volumes may be required.
• Where possible, avoid tight electric fencing and allow cows to spread out to reduce pugging, stress and standing time.
• Cows standing off for long periods have higher maintenance energy requirements, but lower intake, so increasing supplementation is often necessary.
• If power outages prevent milking, continue to feed cows adequately. Do not reduce feeding because cows are not being milked.

When the flood has receded:

• Test human drinking water sources for contamination (boil or treat until safe).
• Check for pump or electrical component damage before restarting systems.
• Assess damage to water supply and reticulation system. Check for broken pipes, blocked trough valves, silt-filled tanks, and contaminated troughs. Clean, flush, and disinfect troughs where silt or debris has entered.
• Assess damage to access lanes, tracks, gateways, culverts and fences. Takes photos as you go to provide evidence if required, before clearing debris (when safe to do so), and mark unsafe or unstable areas (slips, boggy sections, undermined tracks) as no-go areas.
• Assess available non-flooded pastures and other undamaged feed reserves.
• Assess damage to pastures, including the depth and type of silt to determine remediation plans.
• Revise your feed budget, and where required, secure additional feed or access to this as early as possible.
• Contact local council, flood relief co-ordinator, DairyNZ staff, Federated Farmers, MPI, the NZ Landcare Trust, Taskforce Green or other resource providers.
• Talk to your bank manager and insurance company.
• Accept help when offered and ask for it if you need it.

Calf and cow welfare

• Observe stock for lameness, mastitis, stress/exhaustion and foot problems from standing in wet or contaminated conditions.
• Remove stock from heavily contaminated or unsafe paddocks.
• Provide clean water and high-quality feed to support recovery.
• Isolate or treat sick or injured animals.
• Check for lost or wandering stock.

If flooding occurs during calving, more cows may calve early. Ensure regular calf pick-up can be achieved where practically possible. Keep up regular observation of cows and spot abnormal behaviour that can be a sign of metabolic disorders.

• Minimise calving in deep mud or silt - high infection risk (metritis, mastitis, navel ill).
• Check calves for hypothermia (especially premature calves).
• Prioritise colostrum harvest and hygiene - wet conditions increase bacteria counts.

Try to supplement post-calving (colostrum cows) with calcium. Ground limeflour can be mixed in with feed and fed in-shed, or made into a slurry with molasses and poured onto bales.

Transporting stock

Refer to the transport guidelines to ensure cows are fit for transport; correct supplementation will be critical.

Check for soft feet/hoof damage, early mastitis, dehydration, and fatigue.

Avoid transporting animals through floodwater to minimise contamination and soft tissues risks, and confirm with your transporter if routes are still viable.

Standing cows off

• If standing cows off on concrete for 12 hours + a day, for 3 days in succession, cows should be given at least one full day on an alternate surface to rest.
• To prevent mastitis in a standoff situation, regularly apply teat spray, including for dry cows. This might mean running the cows through the shed.
• Extended standing time increases maintenance energy requirements and reduces feed intake - additional supplementation may be required.
• Provide long fibre feeds such as hay, straw, or long-chop silage/baleage when grazing is reduced. Ensure the feed is unspoiled and remove any mould, if present. Long fibre feeds help maintain rumen function, rumination, and rumen fill during periods of low pasture intake and increased stress.

Feed

• Provide clean water and feed to your animals as soon as possible. If possible, do not let animals drink floodwater.
• Ensure water troughs are clean and accessible - sediment and restricted access can reduce water intake.
• Consider electrolytes in early lactation if severe dehydration has occurred.
• Pasture and feed can be contaminated with sewage, bacteria, chemicals, and other toxins. Moulds can develop easily on water-damaged crops, hay, and silage. Minimise access to contaminated feed and avoid using feeds that are showing signs of mould growth, as these can be toxic to animals and people.
• Damaged maize silage and baleage are at higher risk of mould and mycotoxins - discard visibly spoiled feed.
• Prioritise feeding to high-priority animals e.g. cows close to calving, colostrum and early lactation cows, and young stock. If you are using feed you haven’t fed before (e.g. fodder beet, kiwifruit, etc.), be sure to transition well to the new feed, understand the risks and follow good management practices.
• Youngstock are more susceptible to nutrient stress - monitor closely and prioritise quality feed.
• Ring the Feed Coordination and Feed Planning Service on 0800 327 646 for requests and offers of feed and grazing, and feed budgeting advice.
• Consult the DairyNZ FeedChecker if feeding a mix of supplements to ensure cow requirements are being met.
• If pasture supply is limited, low starch, moderate protein feeds such as PKE, soy hulls, lucerne, or grass silage, can be increased quickly to support requirements. Cows producing 1.6kgMS require a diet with 18% protein (higher if producing more).
• Maintain effective fibre alongside high-protein supplements to support rumen health. If no grass is available, you cannot feed cows 100% PKE in early lactation, but can feed up to 7kg PKE as long as they have effective fibre from silage.