North Canterbury dairy farmers reliant on groundwater for pasture growth and stock face a nervous wait to work out what has physically changed following the region’s big shake on Saturday.

While fewer than 10 dairy sheds in North Canterbury around the Darfield epicentre of Saturday morning’s magnitude 7.1 trembler were destroyed, many required repairs to ensure milking could continue.

Federated Farmers North Canterbury dairy chairman Kieran Stone said electricity to most farms was restored during Sunday.