Tararua on Track

The Tararua District secured $1 million to support the recovery of Primary Industry Producers around urgent maintenance and resilience works on farms, as part the Ministry of Primary Industries $35.4 million package to support the recovery of rural communities affected by North Island Weather events, including Cyclone Gabrielle.

Applications to the fund opened on 12th September 2023 and closed 12th October 2023. 126 applications were received and approximately $5.3 million in financial assistance was requested. It was a clear endorsement of the need for this kind of support for farmers and growers in the aftermath of the cyclone.

The Tararua on Track funding could be used in two ways;

1 - Reimbursement for uninsurable/uninsured costs incurred since the cyclone, which relate to urgent maintenance critical to the health and safety of livestock and people

2 - Approval for costs relating to work yet to be completed for uninsurable/uninsured urgent maintenance critical to the health and safety of livestock and people

The $1 million fund has now been distributed among 117 approved farms in the Tararua District, marking a significant milestone in the district’s recovery. It helped to fund repairs on farms across the district, from the top of Te Uri, all the way down to Aohanga and many places in between. The positive feedback from local farmers and growers has been heartening, as has seeing the visual progress of works happening on these properties.

Although many still face large repair costs, the hope is this fund, particularly in assisting with critical repairs, has gone some way to assist local farmers and growers in getting back to a sense of normality in their businesses, and that the completion of this projection marks a positive step forward in the ongoing recovery efforts within the district.