Create a plan for your property, animals and livestock
If you live rurally, your emergency plan may differ slightly from an urban household emergency plan. For example, you may need to consider adding a few extra tasks to your pre-storm checklist if severe weather is on the way. Or, if you have animals and livestock that you care for, you may need to move livestock to higher ground away from low lying areas on your property that may flood.
Consider storing an emergency supply kit just for your animals. You could include items such as:
Extra farm feed such as hay, silage, or pellets.
Additional water stored for animals in addition to what you have stored for your whānau’s household.
Medicines and vet/medical records.
Contact details of your animal carer/s. Store these details along with other important documents and contact information in your Grab Bag and have a plan to communicate with the person caring for your animals during and after the emergency.
Animal first aid supplies.
Pro Tip!
Ensure your animals are easily identifiable
Correctly tagging and registering your animals can make it much easier to locate and reunite them with you if an emergency were to happen.
Find a safe location/shelter
Where would your animals go if you had to evacuate? Follow these tips and considerations when identifying a safe paddock or other location for your animals to go:
Try to avoid low-lying areas that may flood or be exposed to downed power lines and fallen trees.
Plan with someone who doesn’t live with you to care for your animals if you are unable to. This could be a neighbour, family member or paddock owner.
Practice makes perfect!
Once you have identified a safe location, practice moving your animals to that designated safe place.
Make a Business Continuity Plan for your farm or other rural business
Rural communities, businesses, and individuals need to adapt and build resilience to emergencies. This includes looking after your staff, property, and animals, so you need to include them in your emergency plan.
Risk Management Strategies can include:
Setting aside reserves of money, food, and livestock feed
Owning a generator that is the correct size for your equipment/facilities it will be required to run
Keeping insurance up to date
Locating buildings and planting crops away from high-risk areas
Planting drought-resistant crops and planting trees on highly erodible land
Keeping stock in good health
For more information to support your planning, visit the Ministry for Primary Industries website.