Severe storms across New Zealand's North Island have damaged protected berry production in Horowhenua, with five districts placed under states of emergency, including Manawatū, Rangitīkei, Tararua, Waipā, and Ōtorohanga.
At Lewis Farms near Levin, wind gusts damaged 100 metre berry tunnels, removing roof structures and deforming steel frames. Around two of the seven hectares under tunnel production were affected.
Owner and managing director Cam Lewis said staff were safe, but infrastructure damage was extensive.
"The farms are a bit of a mess at the moment," he said.
"Worst for us is the strawberries. So our tunnel houses and the crop itself have been particularly hard hit by the wind."
Lewis indicated that although several tunnels remained standing, part of the covered area sustained structural impact.
"We feel we're pretty geared up for handling wind, but unfortunately, this time around, it came in a completely different direction than what the farm's built to handle and to what we would normally expect.
"So lots and lots of tunnel houses with roofs gone and twisted steel and heaps of our plants lying on the ground, which isn't ideal."
Milk collection was scheduled for late Tuesday, following the removal of downed trees from tanker tracks and access roads. Power to the milking shed has since been restored, marking the second outage at the farm since Christmas.
The event highlights directional wind exposure as a risk factor for tunnel systems designed for prevailing conditions. Lewis said the operation is now assessing additional backup measures, including the possible integration of on-site generation capacity to address future power interruptions.
Storm-related impacts on protected cropping infrastructure are expected to be assessed further as clean-up operations continue across affected North Island districts.
Source: RNZ
