Fundraising drive launched after cyclone leaves massive hole in nation’s farm fencing

The vast scale of damage to rural fencing during Cyclone Gabrielle is starting to emerge, and a major fundraising campaign is kicking off to start the long journey to repairing it all.

Tens of thousands of kilometres of fences are said to have been wiped out in the devastating storm in mid-February, with estimates of the total repair cost running into many hundreds of millions.

The Post Your Support donations drive was launched at the Central Districts Field Days in Manawatū on Friday, with the call going out to all New Zealanders to make a donation which will go towards buying material to help restore the critical farm infrastructure.

The volunteer Farmy Army is being mobilised by Federated Farmers to help start the re-fencing work; rural supplies co-operative Farmlands is managing the fundraising and fencing supplies; and Stuff is promoting the donations drive to its New Zealand-wide audience.

READ MORE: * Federated Farmers puts farm damage from cyclone at about $1 billion * Countdown to promote Hawke's Bay and Gisborne growers' produce * Minister confident the spirit of rural communities will prevail after cyclone

The fundraising has been kicked off with about $650,000 in contributions from various bodies, including $225,000 already raised by Farmlands through its Cyclone Gabrielle Response Fund; $150,000 donated by Federated Farmers, $100,000 from Silver Fern Farms, $30,000 from rural insurer FMG, and $100,000 from the Ministry for Primary Industries.

The "fantastic" initiative was applauded by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor, speaking at the Field Days event.

"It's great to see corporates providing opportunity for individuals to step up and help farmers on the ground in very practical ways," O’Connor said.

"I have always believed we will get through this."

The focus of the fundraising will be on donors "buying" fenceposts for $20 each, which will then go towards paying for a metre of replacement fencing, at a discounted price.

Farmlands chief executive Tanya Houghton had seen first-hand the "utter devastation" caused by Gabrielle, along the East Coast in particular.

"We’re going to act decisively and play to our strengths by helping to get new fences and growing structures up quickly for these communities," Houghton said.

Besides the many Northland and East Coast farms which had borne the brunt of Gabrielle – typically on steep hill country – many orchards, vineyards and horticulture blocks were badly damaged.

"Every farming or growing business relies on fencing and growing structures for one reason or another," Houghton said.

"It's critically important to manage stock and keep animals safe, protect crops, protect native plants and waterways, plus managing land and pastures effectively."

The Farmy Army – a volunteer group which first formed to help in the clean-up after the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011 – is swinging into action, initially in Hawke's Bay, to provide the initial labour and skills to build fences quickly.

It was coordinated via Federated Farmers. Feds national president Andrew Hoggard said the volunteer army would be able to make a "huge, positive difference" to the crisis facing the affected farming communities.

"We have volunteers ready to go from this weekend and we are looking for more who want to help over the coming weeks and months."

"I also urge people to get in behind this project by buying fence posts, as we’re going to need thousands of kilometres of materials."

The fundraising project will be Stuff's second big push to drive donations to support cyclone-afflicted communities, after an initial nationwide campaign raised around $4.5 million.

Chief executive Sinead Boucher said that given the media company's deep reach into rural New Zealand, plus its extensive reporting from the disaster zone, it was "acutely aware" of the impact of the cyclone, and "what a huge positive impact Post Your Support will have on impacted agriculture businesses".

It would make a "practical and tangible difference" to those directly affected across the primary sector, Boucher said.

National MP for Rangitikei Ian McKelvie, who was also at Field Days, said the Post Your Support campaign showed the rural community that companies like Stuff and Farmlands have their back. Repairing fences is a "bloody big" job, he said.