Major flooding and the ongoing heavy rainfall has had widespread impacts across the Manning Great Lakes and Lower Hunter in particular.
Landholders impacted by devastating flooding across the Hunter and Mid Coast are being urged to register for support including emergency fodder, animal assessment and welfare assistance.
NSW Department of Primary Industries and Local Land Services work together to manage the effects of emergencies on agriculture, livestock and our community as Agriculture and Animal Services Functional Area (AASFA).
This includes the current flood emergency with the provision of emergency fodder, animal assessment and veterinary assistance, stock euthanasia and disposal, livestock feeding and management advice, and care of animals in evacuation centres.
If you wish to register for assistance, for emergency fodder or livestock support please call the Agriculture and Animal Services Hotline on 1800 814 647.
Hunter Incident Controller Jamie Maddocks said there has been huge impacts on local producers, including the dairy industry, which has suffered significant losses including fodder.
“Unfortunately major flooding and the ongoing heavy rainfall has had widespread impacts across the Manning Great Lakes and Lower Hunter in particular, and we will sadly see the loss of livestock,” said Jamie.
“Our team is working with local landholders and industry groups to assess the needs of local producers, and get emergency fodder supplies on the ground where possible.
“As the emergency is still unfolding and many areas are cut off due to floodwaters or damage to the road infrastructure, it is proving difficult to access many producers, but we are doing everything we can to get assistance to them.”
Animal safe places are currently open – but please check local conditions and road closures before evacuating to these areas.
- Taree Saleyards (The Bucketts Way, Taree South) is open to take large livestock (horses and cattle) for landholders that have had to evacuate, or are pre-emptively evacuating.
- Bulahdelah Showground (Prince St, Bulahdelah) is open for livestock belonging to landholders that have needed to evacuate, or are pre-emptively evacuating.
- Wingham Showground is also housing more than 50 livestock currently, although access to the town is limited.
We understand the cumulative impacts of these floods will be far reaching, especially coming on the back of many years of drought and then the devastating fires of 2019/2020.
“The producers around here are made of incredibly tough stuff, but the impacts of these floods will be unfortunately long lasting, and our team is here to support you through the clean up and recovery,” said Jamie.
“We know many producers are still trying to locate livestock and even family pets, and urge them to keep our team informed of missing animals and losses so we can assist in the recovery process.
“We are currently working with local retailers and feed producers to source and deliver emergency fodder to the worst hit areas, and have been working closely with the dairy industry to support them as the animals have particular animal health requirements.”
Landholders can also register damage and losses through the primary industries natural disaster damage survey, which is a simple online survey can use to record damage to primary production and animals from natural disasters such as floods, fires, and storms.
The damage survey allows you to, record the number of crops, animals, infrastructure, and other primary industries damaged in a single event, add photos to the assessment and see the severity of damage in your area.
To report damage, submit a survey http://bit.ly/damage_survey
Assistance is available for producers through the Rural Assistance Authority, please visit https://www.raa.nsw.gov.au/
For updates from Hunter Local Land Services, please follow https://www.facebook.com/hunterllsemergenies