Hundreds of Canterbury farmers packed into the Darfield High School hall on Thursday night for a Q & A session with local authorities about the weekend earthquake.

The Federated Farmers organised meeting focused on dealing with the emotional aftermath of the region’s biggest ever recorded quake.

Some farmers left the meeting disappointed with the lack of commitment from Government on covering the cost of the earthquake.

Finance Minister Bill English addressed the meeting and wouldn’t be drawn on exactly what support, if any, the Government would provide farmers whose land had been damaged, and warned that some may not be covered by insurance.

Darfield farmer Roger Bates was at the meeting, but he says farmers looking for a handout need to get real.

“[You're] still going to get the odd one or two that are interested in trivia, a bit of petty cash.

"Most of us aren’t too concerned about that side of things, we just want to get on with it.

"People have got to grow up and take some accountability themselves, you don’t want to rely on the Government to solve all your problems.

There are of course people facing genuine hardship, but I think we should take another look at things and maybe ask ‘can I fix this myself?’ And get on with it.”