THE damage bill is expected to run into the millions from the torrential rain and cyclonic winds which wreaked havoc across Northern Rivers communities over the long weekend, forcing evacuations, isolating thousands, leaving close to 20,000 without power for several days and cutting water supplies.
On farms, river flat pastures will now be out of action for months, hundreds of head of cattle are likely to be shipped west for agistment and horticulture crop losses on some farms could add up to as much as 30 per cent of this season’s production.
However, many other beef, cropping, dairy and even some cane operations which avoided flooding have welcomed the significant moisture which was desperately needed after months of below-average rainfall and the recent heatwave.
For some areas around Grafton, Kempsey and west of Casino, falls of around 300 millimetres over four to five days have been a saviour from what was verging on drought.
Richmond River mayor and Casino district beef producer Ernie Bennett said overall there was probably more good than bad in the rain event.
“There are some beautiful crops of soybeans around and the majority are laser levelled, so water will run off quickly and the losses shouldn’t be too great,” he said.
“For most beef producers it will be a real shot in the arm and hopefully it will pull our cattle prices up, as people were becoming quite desperate and having to sell off which had flooded the market.”
Sugar producers closer to the coast, with soybeans and young plant cane still under water, are praying for showery days now to save crops.
Clarence River grower Alister McFarlane, Maclean, whose entire 100 hectares was still under water on Tuesday, said heat now would be devastating.
“The cane was very stressed from dry in the lead-up to this weekend and we could’ve taken double the 213mm we got but without the flood,” he said.
The Clarence River peaked at just over eight metres, which farmers said was the biggest flood since 1890.
Senior ranger with the North Coast Livestock Health and Pest Authority (LHPA) Dean Chamberlain said most areas around Grafton had received in excess of 300mm and areas like the Ulmarra floodplains would not be able to carry stock for months.
Reports of extensive infrastructure damage and stock losses were expected in the coming days, he said.
Around Kempsey, there was minor flooding with falls around 200mm but overall the rain was very welcome, LHPA rangers said.
On Northern Rivers macadamia farms, early indications suggest a 10pc to 15pc crop loss, although individual farms have reported up to 30pc, according to Australian Macadamia Society president Jolyon Burnett, Lismore.
Uprooted trees, mainly those with heavy nut loads, and damage to orchard floors and roadways were the main problems but the fact that harvest was still a month away also meant any nut that had now fallen would be lost, he said.
For most croppers and grain growers on Queensland’s Darling Downs, patchy falls of between 70mm and 300mm was also welcome, although vegetable growers in the Lockyer Valley are reporting big losses.
Some farmers around Laidley, where evacuations were required, had only just finished repairs following the devastating floods two years ago to see sheds, equipment and farm infrastructure wiped out again and entire crops drowned.
