As the rain continues on throughout Victoria, farmers across the state are assessing (or not assessing - yet) what recovery efforts are needed in the aftermath of October floods.
According to stud principal of Pepperton Poll Dorset stud and cropper Roger Trewick, Elmore, farmers will have to deal large or small amounts recovery work, depending on where they are based.
Mr Trewick said about 80 acres of wheat crops had been destroyed on his property, and that "it was about the same for many other people in the region who have lost crops".
"I tried cutting up the crops other day and ran into a log that could have done a lot of damage if it had gone through the machine but it didn't," he said.
"I did get cold feet because the bottom half of the crop has got mud on it, and while the top half looks okay but then you're dropping it on wet ground"
Flooding in Rochester has devastated the community, and Mr Trewick believes only "about 16 houses" in the town that houses more than 3,000 people, have not been affected by the disaster.
He said his farm has been relatively lucky, with sheep at higher ground and only a portion of crop destroyed.
But there were some farmers who were not as fortunate.
READ MORE:
Mr Trewick said a neighbour in Elmore will be dealing with recovery efforts for months after floods inundated two properties.
"They lost every part of their farm on one property [due to floods], except for where their house is, and another property received a lot of water over it as well," he said.
"They completely lost all their hay and fencing, and are running hot wires now to keep their cattle in.
"They're not getting any assistance from those at Blaze-Aid, and they're promising to come here later, but those guys have to control their stock and have to do it all themselves right now.
"There's no clean up help anywhere here at the moment too."
Mr Tewick said Rochester was picking up the pieces, dealing with insurance companies and businesses are bracing for high premiums which will have flow on effects to farmers like himself who need to head into the town for services to vehicles, for example.
He also criticised the method of warnings that are given out to regional areas, and said he had enough of "bloody bureaucrats who just think if they can give us warnings without any consequences."
"They have to cover their arse because they have a job to do, but it is demoralising for people.
"We've had warnings about COVID to other warnings when it's a hot day that tell people to stay away because of bushfires.
"Tourism drops off dramatically because of this and nobody will want to come to the country anymore.
"What concerns me is the mental health of some people that are going to be affected by this for years too.
"I think government departments should moderate the warnings that they're putting out all the time [because] people are on edge more than they need to be."
He also said simple measures, like a depth gauge near the Midland Highway bridge over the Campaspe River near Elmore could have great benefits to people negotiating floodwaters.
While Mr Trewick continues to work hard to get his property back in order, some farmers are still waiting for an extended break to the weather before undergoing any repairs to flood damage.
Cropper Simon Coutts, Moolort, had a part of his cropping operation damaged when floods inundated part of his property more than a month ago.
He said that there won't be any repairs done until there is a significant run of dry weather in his region.
"We don't want to do anything right right now," he said.
"It's because I'm not sure what's going to happen in the future."
It was not worth fixing fences that may get damaged again quickly if inclement weather continued.
"They don't really need to be fixed at the moment.
"I've got stock away from the out of those paddocks that need to be fixed, so it's best to wait until things settle down a bit before I fixed those fences."
Mr Coutts said stock will remain on higher ground until then, but he has some concerns about the consequences of keeping them there if there isn't a string of dry days..
"We had 20 millimetres earlier this week," he said.
"The stock are on paddocks that aren't near the creek though, which could be an issue for feed availability if it runs low, but that is the best course of action for us right now."
- Subscribers have access to download our free app today from the App Store or Google Play