Snowfall has caused damage to the wintering barn at Bruce Eade's farm in Tapanui, Southland. Photo: Supplied by Bruce Eade
Farmers in lower half of the South Island are battling blizzard like conditions and freezing temperatures as a cold snap sweeps across the island.
Bruce Eade who runs a 550 head dairy farm near Tapanui in Eastern Southland said since Saturday afternoon the weather had been dreadful, with cold blasts, snow and plenty of rain.
"Since it started snowing since Saturday night we've had about eight inches, we've had a lot of rain as well so as the snow melts we're getting a bit of flooding.
"Looking at the paddock now there's only about six inches of fence post sticking out of the water."
Bruce Eade said damage to the barn means it might be a write off. Photo: Supplied by Bruce Eade
Eade said this was the biggest snowfall he had seen in 10 years and the weight of the snow caused huge damage to his open pen-barn which is used to house 150 heifers in the winter.
"We discovered at 10am yesterday morning the roof caved in on that, thankfully we've had good weather so the calves and yearlings were still out on grass.
"I'd say the barn is a write off really, the roof is touching the ground and it's all bent and buckled, it's about 60 metres long and I think there's only 10 metres at one end that's still standing."
Eade said his power has been on and off which had made it difficult to milk the cows - but he said a generator was up and running now.
"Today we're just out feeding the stock again, it's been a slog the last few days, you just come home at the end of the day and you're just about too knackered to have a beer, I know I feel asleep on the sofa at 8pm last night."
Flooding and snow at Bruce Eade's farm in Tapanui, Southland. Photo: Supplied by Bruce Eade
Further north, Paul O'Malley who farms sheep and beef in Styx Valley at the head of the Maniototo Plain said conditions were terrible.
"Yesterday feeding out I could hardly see the silage behind me, it was just blizzard-like conditions, today it's more sleety stuff but we've still got really cold, strong winds - it's bloody miserable."
He said there was about six inches of snow covering his farm - but the stock were doing fine.
"We are prepared, it's winter so we are feeding out anyway, we're a long way from shearing or lambing up in our valley so it's not really a problem, I don't mind winter in winter time - it's when it comes in Spring when it causes the problems."
O'Malley said all he could really do today was feed the stock - so it was lucky he had a heater in his tractor.
Damage to a power line on Bruce Eade's farm in Tapanui, Southland. Photo: Bruce Eade / Supplied