Powlett Plains farmer Miles Parry loses 400 hectares of canola

At the height of the Victorian floods, 800 hectares of his canola was partially or fully submerged in floodwaters as the nearby Loddon River rose to major flood levels.

The fifth-generation farmer was expecting one of the best financial returns from his crop since he started farming, on the back of high grain prices, despite the inflamed input costs for applications such as fertiliser.

Now, most of the crop is destroyed.

"Mother nature can be so destructive," Mr Parry said.

"They're talking about another flood at the end of the week and we're already in line to lose millions of dollars."

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Mr Parry farms with his two older brothers, Angus and Adam, and father, Leigh, and trades as Parry Brothers Powlett.

The family have properties at Powlett Plains and Barraport West where more than 4050 hectares of canola was being grown this year.

"In our area at Powlett Plains, I'd say it could quite possibly be the worst flood in history," he said.

"In some places - it's almost unbelievable to think about it - but some of the flood water was six-feet deep."

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The Parry's main property is located between the two townships of Bridgewater and Serpentine, and while a majority of the floodwater has subsided, the economic effect is still being evaluated.

"My father has never seen flood water that high," Mr Parry said.

"We gave the crops everything they needed in a year that should have been one of the best years on record and now it's turned into one of the worst years in history."

The crop was expected to yield about 4.5 tonnes per hectare, a phenomenal result for canola, according to Mr Parry.

"If the flood water completely submerges the canola, the crop will be ruined," he said.

"In sections where the floodwater hasn't submerged the entire crop, there will be sections we'll be able to harvest but the quality will be pretty poor."

"Unfortunately, we've bloody lost it."

Mr Parry criticised Goulburn Murray Water, which manages the inflows from weirs and catchments into the Loddon River, for its alleged lack of mitigation to prevent the widespread flooding.

The state government body manages 24 water storages that can hold approximately 11 million megalitres, including the Dartmouth Dam, Hume Dam, Lake Eppalock and Lake Eildon.

He said GMW did not do enough to reduce the risk of flooding along the river system, despite being warned months ago a flood was a real risk given catchments were nearing or at 100 per cent.

"Farmers have been around for generations and can read weather patterns well enough to know," he said.

"If GMW had of months ago started releasing water when these huge rains weren't happening, they would have had plenty of room in their catchments.

"The reason we've had this flood is because GMW have their catchments at 100pc capacity so they have no room for any inflows and as soon as it starts raining, it starts running into dams that are already full."

Mr Parry said catchments at full capacity caused dams to spill over floodways, ultimately flooding properties downstream.

"I understand that we farm along the river and it can be prone to flooding, but if we can mitigate those risks, then we need to do it," Mr Parry said.

"It was months ago that I started contacting GMW by phone and as you can imagine, it's very hard to deal with government agencies by phone.

"GMW has basically told me that they don't have any responsibility to mitigate flooding and to me, that is just disgusting because they're a government agency that should be helping farmers."

Goulburn Murray Water emergency controller Peter Clydesdale said GMW aimed to have the storages at 100pc at the conclusion of flood events to maximise water availability for future use by our customers.

"GMW's water storages are designed and operated to provide a secure and safe water supply and not specifically for flood mitigation, but if opportunities arise, can be operated to provide downstream flood peak reduction benefits where possible," he said.

Mr Clydesdale said pre-releases had already occurred at Lake Eildon and Cairn Curran Reservoir.

"These releases are below the minor flood level where possible to allow for further inflows from rainfall events like the one we're currently experiencing.

"Water storages may provide significant mitigation for small floods and may reduce downstream flooding, however the storage's ability to mitigate downstream flows so they remain below flood thresholds reduces as floods become larger."