As the rescue effort in Christchurch is officially called off, after 8 days of searching for survivors, the focus in the Canterbury area switches to recovery.
It’s thought more than 200 people may have been killed in last Tuesday’s 6.3 magnitude earthquake, while the official toll keeps rising, now above 160.
In the city’s outlying suburbs though, flooded with sand and silt after the quake, thousands of volunteers have been hard at work clearing up the debris from streets and homes.
The Federated Farmers ‘Farmy Army’ has been boosted by hundreds of rural volunteers from around the country, as well as students from high schools and universities in Canterbury.
The ‘Farmy Army’ is concentrating on Christchurch schools and surrounding roads, in an effort to clear these up for reopening – as well as helping with distribution of water and amenities.
From next week, Federated Farmers has said there will be an opportunity for farmers around the country to contribute in other ways towards the relief effort.
The Feds have started a push to “meat the needs of Christchurch” by encouraging farmers to donate some wool and meat returns to charities helping in the cleanup.
Federated Farmers Adverse Events spokesman David Rose says anyone supplying a participating company with their produce will have the option of giving some of their revenue to the relief work.
"We’re making it simple for farmers to give.
"When farmers have a draught of lamb or cattle and they’re looking at them just before they send them away, they might ponder how lucky we in the rural sector are compared to Christchurch.
"We expect them to give generously and donate a lot of money."
The full list of Participating companies is below:
Participating meat companies:
Participating wool companies:
Elders Primary Wool
