A Bungowannah farmer is spending more than $10,000 a week to move stock off his property as access becomes limited to due to flooding.
Andrew Watson has owned Kensal Green for three years and has made the early call to protect his cattle as another wet summer beckons.
He started the process to transport 250 cows to a friend's property at Holbrook this week, but has held onto 250 cows and calves, plus another 400 weaners.
"We run about 1000 head with 500 cows and we've decided to pull over half out," he said.
"All of our cattle would normally be running down the river, so we've had to bring them all up to semi-high ground. We're pretty flat, so we haven't got much high ground.
![Andrew Watson's Kensal Green farm at Bungowannah has increasingly significant access issues due to flooding from the Murray River. Picture by James Wiltshire Andrew Watson's Kensal Green farm at Bungowannah has increasingly significant access issues due to flooding from the Murray River. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/beau.greenway/68026250-266e-4042-b247-be76b89e596d.jpg/r0_0_5115_3410_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
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"If the water stayed where it is, we'd be happy enough, but I don't trust it.
"The forecast next week is for 100 millimetres and it's 15 hours to act."
Mr Watson said more than half of his 800-hectare farm had been destocked before it became too difficult to move animals.
"It's hard with calves because they're like cats. They hate water," he said.
"If we have another foot of water, trucks can't get through. You've got to act early or you don't act at all.
"Some people haven't moved a thing and may get away with it, but there's risks with animal welfare."
![Farmer Andrew Watson ushering some of his cattle into transport trucks on Wednesday as he continues the massive task of relocating stock away from his flood-affected Bungowannah property. Picture by James Wiltshire Farmer Andrew Watson ushering some of his cattle into transport trucks on Wednesday as he continues the massive task of relocating stock away from his flood-affected Bungowannah property. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/beau.greenway/803a80ab-eb3c-4138-8a27-987205345d20.jpg/r0_0_5236_3491_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Shanahan's Livestock Transport owner-operator Dom Shanahan said the carrier hadn't been inundated with flood-related requests.
"We've got a bit of flexibility and no doubt the other carriers have been the same, but it's more so access to a lot of these places that can be challenging," he said.
"For cows and calves, we use a B-double and lot of farms don't have B-double access at the moment because it has been so wet."
Mr Watson is hopeful flooding won't rival the enormity of the 2016 disaster, but believes Murray Darling Basin Authority, which manages releases from Hume Dam, didn't act early enough.
![Andrew Watson watches on as water flows beneath a bridge on his Bungowannah farm at a rapid rate. Picture by James Wiltshire Andrew Watson watches on as water flows beneath a bridge on his Bungowannah farm at a rapid rate. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/beau.greenway/929c947a-e124-40d1-9503-895ed7861947.jpg/r0_0_5442_3628_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"In May, June and July, they had the chance to drop Hume Dam. We asked them why they didn't go down to 87 per cent (for flood mitigation) and they told us on a Zoom call that there was no guarantee that Hume Weir would fill," he said.
"It's another La Nina year, there's above average rainfall and the whole catchment is wet.
"They could still be at 87 per cent now and they would have 13 per cent to play with, so they could absorb a couple of big events.
"I understand we're on a floodplain and that's part of living here, but this is a manmade flood."
Murray River Action Group chairman Richard Sargood told Australian Community Media on Tuesday he expected a more disastrous flood than 2016 due to the high levels of water in Hume and Dartmouth dams.