Holsteins were moved to dry ground at John and David Stephens’ farm at Bunbartha. Photo: Holly Daniel
Photo by
Holly Daniel
A large chunk of the crops on the Bunbartha property John Stephens farms with his father David Stephens went under water or are in paddocks that are too wet to harvest.
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They also had to move 100 Holsteins they had agisted on the property to higher ground after water from Loch Garry Rd bridge spilled onto their land and got caught in depressions during the October floods.
The cows were moved a paddock close to David’s house, where they were fed wrapped hay baled last year.
John said he was at the local community centre helping fill sandbags for others in the lead up to the floods, and did not start to prepare his own property until Tuesday, October 18.
“We had to make a call to move the cows ... as the lake started to fill,” John said.
“It was an interesting four days.”
John estimates half of his 90-hectare canola crop went under water.
And he fears for the rest.
“It was a sensational crop,” he said.
“But I can’t see the floodwater going or the rain stopping enough to get a windrower or harvester in there.
“If we get on to harvest, it should be okay.”
He said 20ha of his wheat crop could also “go either way” as the crop was locked in by water and it would be hard to get machinery in there when needed.
“I have a great crop on high country, but there’s a (land) depression to get there.”
The flooded crops at John Stephens' Bunbartha property. While the top of part of the crop is showing, the bottom is all under water. Photo: John Stephens
There are also sections of the crop that had a big depression through them and John is concerned the water will drain to low spots and then sit there.
“Most of the wheat will be touch and go.”
John said at least half the farm was affected by water.
“The best case scenario is 30 per cent of the crops will be lost to floodwater,” he said.
And the worst case?
“About 45 per cent. I don’t even want to think about that.”
The Stephens family only switched from orchards to hay and cropping three years ago, so John said he was no stranger to losing crops at the last minute.
“Coming from fruit farming, you never think about the harvest until you’ve sold it,” he said.
“I’ve built a bit of resilience. It’s not real until you see it on paper.”
With fertiliser and chemical costs skyrocketing this year, he is now just hopeful of saving as much of the crop as possible.
“This year inputs were so high. That adds extra pressure to the bottom line.”
Floodwater inundated about 30 per cent of the crops at John Stephens’ Bunbartha property that he farms with father David Stephens. Photo: John Stephens
He is also concerned that in the coming months there will not be feed for stock in the region.
“There’s not going to be any feed around. It’s a wipe out this year.”
He said all cereal crops would be too late now to harvest, which would lead to a lack of hay.
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