Gale-force winds caused widespread damage across farms in Southland, Clutha and Otago on Thursday.
Many farmers still remain without power and essential services as they begin their recovery efforts this week.
Federated Farmers Southland dairy chairman Bart Luijten said farmers had banded together by sharing generators to get their cows milked.
He and four other farmers had shared one generator between them just to keep going.
"I had to drive an hour to go and get it.
"I finished my milk at 2am and my wife had to go and drop the generator off because there were other people waiting to use it."
Over a four-day period, Mr Luijten had dumped about 12,000 litres.
He had to skip two milkings, which meant less production for the third milk.
His power was restored on Sunday evening.
Generators were being shifted from farms that were being restored with power to those that still did not have it.
About 250 farmers were still without power yesterday morning, just in Southland, he said.
The $150,000 contribution from the government southern council’s mayoral relief funds would help some services but farmers would bear large personal costs going forward.
He estimated individual farms would require at least $25,000 each.
"Just my spilt milk is $10,000."
Farmers were eager to see timelines for the recovery effort.
Their morale was up, and they were still in quite good spirits, Mr Luijten said.
"Farmers are resourceful; they will find solutions."
DairyNZ lower South Island regional manager Jared Stockman said it was still very much in response mode across the lower South Island.
"The focus right now is on restoring power for those who remain without it."
Mr Stockman said farmer welfare was a top priority as fatigue began to set in and farmers dealt with significant disruption to their farming operations.
"We’re encouraging farmers to assess their own situations carefully and to reach out to support networks such as Rural Support Trust NZ, milk supply companies and DairyNZ area managers."
He encouraged farmers to contact their regional council if there were concerns around effluent management and disposal of waste milk.
It was too early to quantify the full extent of the damage or milk losses, but DairyNZ was working with sector partners to build a clearer picture over the coming days.
He was covering up the hole in the roof of his shed to protect his Coast-to-Coast race-worthy kayaks and bikes from yesterday evening’s downpour.
He had already begun working on chopping down the tree that had fallen on his shed.
A Clarendon-based household was sharing a garage space because the roof had blown off their house.
One of the family members had been given a generator for free by a colleague and they were grateful for it.
Emergency Management Southland said it expected the emergency response to continue through the week.
It advised to conserve water and avoid unnecessary water usage, where possible.
Wastewater treatment plants were returning to normal but a few still relied on generators.
PowerNet said about 6250 customers in Southland and 2500 in Otago remained without power.
The number of cell towers still down was 18, it said.
Schools would try to open today.
Several schools had camps planned for this week, but most had been cancelled.
Five Southland soldiers from 2/4 Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment have been deployed to support Southland communities alongside welfare staff from Emergency Management Southland.
They split into four teams and were reaching more remote and isolated communities, carrying out welfare checks and delivering information.
The Clutha District Council said a boil water notice remained in place for most of the district.
Some roads remained closed due to power lines, and contractors were co-ordinating with PowerNet to get them reopened.
It was still "extremely dangerous" to begin clearing and sawing up downed trees, particularly those that could be spring-loaded near power lines.
More trees and branches could potentially still come down in the wind.
Cycling Southland yesterday said it had decided to postpone the SBS Bank Tour of Southland in the wake of last week’s regional weather event.
