Caroline Amyes has had an eventful first month in her new role as a farming leader.
The Federated Farmers North Canterbury president hoped her trip to National Fieldays at Mystery Week last week would give her the chance to "refocus" after her "baptism of fire" in responding to the recent flood event.
"It’s been an interesting first month. The Federated Farmers team has been awesome in the support they’ve provided and we’ve been working closely with the Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury provincial presidents, so there’s been plenty of support."
Despite the challenges of her first month, she had no regrets.
"These things never happen at the most convenient time, but [immediate past-president] Cam [Henderson] and the rest of the exec have been awesome. If the whole exec had changed at once it would have been a different story.
"I really like helping people and providing support, so I’ve just been trying to do that and I hope it’s beneficial."
While people tended to run on adrenaline when responding to a significant natural event, the recovery phase could be more taxing on people, she said.
"Farmers are really good at reaching out and supporting each other. These events happen and then it kind of falls out of the news cycle, but these guys are on their farms which are still not fully functioning and they’re having to deal with it every day."
