Southland Federated Farmers vice president Kass Rauber said earlier this week some farmers were still badly affected after 130 hours with no mains power, following the violent storm that swept Southland two weeks ago.

“They’d put generators into houses using a power chord through a window but they weren’t hard wired, Rauber says.

“That has meant no appliances, no heat pump or hot water cylinder."

"A lot of fuel tanks are all hard wired in now too.”

All of these extra jobs each day had loaded up farmers.

“Some are under a fair bit of stress and pressure."

"There’s been some awesome community hubs set up at sports clubs and the likes,” he says.

He believed that on Monday afternoon Fonterra estimated some 190 Southland farmers were still using generators and that excluded some areas.

Deer farmers were also affected with velvet needing to be kept chilled in freezers and deer needing velveted.

“We had people ringing to say they wanted generators to operate their deer handling.”

Sheep farmers using automative lamb feeders were also affected.

“There was a huge demand from livestock,” he says.

Rauber says it was the first time there had been such a big event like this that was so widespread wiping out all of Southland, much of Otago and parts of Canterbury.

“It’s put a huge drain on resources in the South Island."

"Southland wasn’t even in the severe weather warning."

"We were hit hard, quick and violently and a lot were caught off guard,” he says.