Heavy rain and hail caused varying degrees of damage to farms across Ararat Rural City on Saturday, January 2, decimating some but barely affecting others.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ararat farmer John Munro said the storms had significantly devalued his crops, but also noted the outcome could easily have been worse.
"We took 99 millimeters out of the gauge Saturday night," he said.
"Amazingly enough all the crops are still standing reasonably well.
"As long as we don't get too much damp or humid weather they won't come out of it too bad, but the grains will be downgraded.
"We were looking at a really good harvest. They've probably gone from being $260-270 a tonne down to probably down to about $100. That is where the kick in the guts will be."
Ballyrogan farmer Peter Oddie said it was difficult to calculate the extent of the damage at this stage.
"You don't know until you've delivered it to the silos and have it graded," he said.
"What we're growing is feed wheats, so it might not be so much of a problem."
However, Mr Oddie said the farm has not fully escaped harm.
"It washed away quite a bit of our farm tracks," he said.
"It's delaying the harvest significantly and everyone will be going nuts because of it.
"But it's good for livestock and good for summer crops, so it's not all bad."
The amount of rainfall fluctuated greatly across the shire, and consequently, farmers' fortunes varied as well.
Jackson Farming in Moyston reported receiving just 32 millimeters of rain.
Although further south, Willaura and Lake Bolac were severely flooded, with some areas also enduring hail.
Willaura farmer Andrew Byron said he felt lucky to have avoided major losses.
"We escaped pretty well. Nothing was damaged too much."
Ivan Hucker said his farm was also relatively unscathed but knew of a nearby farm that was damaged badly by the hail.
"Their farm just turned white after the hail and stripped all the seeds out of the canola," he said.
"It was a standing crop he was harvesting and the hail knocked everything out."
Mr Munro said he hoped the weather in the coming days would be kinder.
"It's just a sitting and waiting game at the moment.
"What we need is some dry weather so we can get back at it again."
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from The Ararat Advertiser. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Ararat shire, sign up here.
