Just when farmers in the South Island thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. The heavy dump of snow in Southland has meant the heartache of lamb losses, spilt milk and rebuilding on-farm that will stretch well out into the future.

Farmers knew of the bad weather approaching - they were served very well by NIWA, weather forecasters and media reports but nothing preared them for what they now have to cope with.

For both sheep and dairy farmers, this weather event has come at a time when it can do the most damage to fragile financial situations.

With prospects for both lamb and dairy products looking brighter than for some time, there were many who had hoped this season's earnings would put them back into a much better financial spot.

Now their accountants will be preparing to give them the bad news as earnings drop but all the essential maintenance of infrastructure on the farm has to go on.

The GST rise from October 1 won't help, either.

It's a timely reminder that while New Zealand has a great grass-growing climate, the country's maritime nature means storms such as this can do a great amount of damage to livestock and property in a very short space of time.

As with the earthquake in Christchurch, perhaps the most important thing to focus on is the miracle that there was no loss of human life.

And for that all New Zealanders need to be profoundly grateful.