The wintry blast that hit the country last week has prompted the West Otago Community Board to seek a snow clearing system in the area.
At its meeting yesterday, the board asked the Clutha District Council to contact roading contractors to organise a meeting with farmers and civil defence staff to co-ordinate clearing roads of snow.
Board member Michael McElrea said he had received phone calls from several farmers in the wider Moa Flat area who had more than half a metre of snow on their properties.
Contractors did their best but they "just couldn't get through", so farmers who owned snow ploughs cleared roads, with one farmer damaging his, Mr McElrea said.
West Otago farmer Nelson Hancox owns three farms in the area - Tapanui, Wilden, and Park Hill. The Wilden property, 30km north of Tapanui, was the hardest hit by the snowfall.
It received between 60cm and 70cm of snow and Mr Hancox's manager used a snow plough to clear nearby roads.
West Otago needed a co-ordinated approach to clear roads after heavy snow, and could mirror a system used in the English rural areas where each farmer was allocated an area to clear, Mr Hancox said.
Mr Hancox bought the snow plough two years ago and had used it at least once each winter.
"The main priority for us is to clear access for our staff and to get to the stock."
West Otago ward councillor Jeff McKenzie said clearing snow was hard on farmers' equipment.
The council suggested the system could also be used for farmers in the Mahinerangi area near Lawrence.
