Jodi Reymer inspects damage on her family’s farm
Bridges are supposed to span water not be submerged beneath it.
Paul and Helen Reymer stand where their bridge once stood.
One of the biggest expenses facing the Reymer farm on Ormsby Road in Pirongia is replacing a bridge knocked out by the Valentine’s Weekend storms.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Jodi Reymer said.
“Our high bridge is gone, completely gone – we’ve never had water up to that level before.”
Near the bridge, water rose to approximately eight metres above its usual height.
“It sounds like the only thing insurance will cover is our boundary fence, so replacing the bridge is going to be a major expense for us,” said Jodi.
“I’m hoping we can sort it before winter as the stream often rises too high to ford and stock will need to be checked and fed regularly at that time of year.”
The farm is owned by Jodi’s parents, Paul and Helen, and managed by her sister, Tabitha. It supports the family’s dairy property near Hamilton that, fortunately, was not affected.
Flood damage on the Reymer family farm
Flood damage on the Reymer family farm
Flood damage on the Reymer family farm
South of Pirongia, it’s a different story.
“We had a campground that was washed away – the cabin went floating down the stream,” Jodi said.
“Another urgent problem was our water supply system. The pipes were blown out. It’s not completely fixed, but at least we had water going again by Monday.”
Winter feed may be in shorter supply due to the weather bomb, but won’t prove a major problem for the Reymers. Similarly, no stock losses were recorded, Jodi said.
“Our feed is grown and stored on higher ground and we don’t grow a lot of maize, only a little to use here, so no losses there either, thankfully.”
Most of the pieces can be picked up, but it will take time to undo damage caused over just one wild weekend.
“It’s ruined our beautiful stream – that’s never going to look the same again. It’s going to take us a few weeks to get fencing back to a reasonable state but months to get the bridge sorted. We’ll get there, but it won’t be easy.”
Another member of the Reymer family has been helping others, primarily in the shadow of Mount Pirongia.
Jodi Reymer’s uncle Andrew Reymer said support networks were quick to spring into action but they will still be needed over the coming weeks.
“It’s just been incredible,” he said. “Farmers have got on with it, with mates calling mates and neighbours calling neighbours. They’re all supporting each other,” he said.
“We’ve been putting together a ‘farming army’ to help, and there is support through the Rural Support Trust – if people are really struggling, there are numbers to call.”
Damage in Pirongia.
Water damage in Pirongia
As many farms were spared, spare hands were available.
“Not everybody was hit hard, but up the mountain, Pirongia, people were pretty badly affected,” the Te Awamutu Federated Farmers president said. “They had some big washouts with about 200mls of rain that tore out bridges and took everything along with it.”
Stock losses have been negligible and even infrastructure – especially fences – can be repaired. However, some damage can’t be fixed.
“Maize and some vegetable growers may have lost 100 per cent of their year’s income in just one storm. Some had a crop of maize about a month away from harvest that’s now been flattened. They’ll be hit hardest financially so they’re the ones I’d be most concerned about.”
Jodi Reymer inspects damage on her family’s farm
