A business survey of South Island businesses by advisors Polson Higgs and McCulloch and Partners found that they are more optimistic after the September 4 earthquake than before.

Polson Higgs was evaluating the effects of the collapse of South Canterbury Finance, severe winter snowstorms, and more lately, the Canterbury earthquake.

The surveyors compared results with those of its previous survey, completed at the end of August, just before the major events.

More than 40 grain silos have toppled and split spewing their contents following Saturday morning’s Canterbury’s magnitude 7.1 quake and more are at risk.

Federated Farmers grains and seeds chairman in North Canterbury Murray Rowlands said some silos filled with food-grade wheat weighed up to 130 tonnes.

“When the ground shifts five metres, I don’t care how strong the legs are, it’s going to come down,” he said.

As a result, he said thousands of tonnes of food-grade grain was spilt and required a fast response to save.