Following last weeks floods across NSW, dairy farmers are assessing damage to property, including fencing and other infrastructure costs as well as loss of livestock, swept away by the currents. Farmers on the Mid North Coast of NSW who farm on islands surrounded by rivers were able to watch as their land got narrower, as water levels rose faster than anticipated.

Local Land Services are encouraging farmers to complete a Department of Primary Industries damage survey to assess damage to properties, landholdings, infrastructure, and stock, which can be used to guide further support systems such as state and federal grants. So far, farmers are reporting loss of newly sown winter pastures with the cost to resow estimated at $250 – $300/ha in seed and fertiliser.