YOUR INDUSTRY
Kaiaponi Farms general manager Scott Wilson says the biggest challenge after the March rain was that not picking and packing early compressed the season and put pressure on post-harvest facilities. Picture by Kristine Walsh
Overloaded orchardists hit by trio of massive rain events It rained, it rained again, and then it rained some more. Gisborne orchardists are counting the cost of one weather bomb after another. By Kristine Walsh. Gisborne’s famous fertile plains turned into flood plains with March rains that in places exceeded century-old records.
So while coastal farmers were hit hard, the biggest impact on produce was seen on the western and southern sides of the city, where the highest volume of horticulture is concentrated.
But growers say the downpour can’t be seen in isolation: beforehand, they had setbacks due to heavy rain in November 2021, and afterwards – just before Easter – ex-tropical Cyclone Fili dumped a further 200mm on East Cape in the north, 100mm in Wairoa to the south, and 70mm on Gisborne city.
Back in November, Gisborne District Council chief scientist Murry Cave described the rainfall as a “one-in-50-year event”, which led to the declaration of a State of Emergency.
While most of the greatest damage of all three events was seen on the East Coast, north of Gisborne city, much of that land is devoted to forestry and sheep and beef farming.
In March, it was even worse … from late Tuesday 22 March to late the following night, Gisborne was hit by 250–300ml of rain – around three months’ worth.
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The ORCHARDIST : MAY 2022
