Monique Bryant's dairy herd was at its peak production when floodwater from the Goulburn River system flooded their Kaarimba property in northern Victoria.
Mrs Bryant, along with her husband, Mark, had about 40pc of their 530-hectare property underwater when the Broken Creek peaked at 3.11 metres earlier this month.
Increased flows from the nearby Loch Garry regulation, which spilled and caused levee banks to burst, meant the water through their property was unusually high.
"We've probably lost 20 per cent of production per cow since the floods," Ms Bryant said.
"We were peaking with our milk production when the floods hit and we haven't been able to keep that level of production since."
READ MORE:
The property is located on the river between Numurkah and Nathalia and features about 400 Friesian cows.
"Our normal catchment area would usually see us receive water from Tungamah and Katamatite," Mrs Bryant said.
"What happened at Loch Garry put a lot of water into the Zeerust community and that water ended up in the Pine Lodge Creek and eventually came past us."
The Bryants opted to move their entire herd of property several days before the floodwaters arrived.
"Typically we have time to make decisions," Mrs Bryant said.
"We would get in a tiny, shoot across to the other side of the creek, jump in the car and head down the road to milk and that's certainly how our kids were getting to school as well."
The flood was not as severe on the Kaarimba property as the last major flood in 2012 which peaked at 3.57 metres and submerged the entire Toorangie Park property.
"We were very lucky because we'd done a fair bit of silage before that rain event, but we've lost all our dry land vetch and wheat crops and certainly damage to our pastures as well," Mrs Bryant said.
"The biggest lessons I've learned are that you've always got options, take time to find out the facts for yourself, and when you make a decision, back it."
The cows were away from the property for about 2.5 weeks and have since returned.
"We're really glass half full-type people," Mrs Bryant said.
"All our animals and family were safe and we want to keep moving forward."
She said the flood event also highlighted the importance of having strong relationships with service providers and people they used regularly on farm.
"By having strong relationships with our milk factory or the people who we use to do our excavating work or our dairy service technician to our grain supplier meant this tricky period was a lot easier to handle," she said.
Subscribers have access to download our free app today from the App Store or Google Play.
Bryce Eishold
Bryce is a senior journalist with Australian Community Media's Stock & Land where he reports on all aspects of agriculture. Bryce is also the president of the Rural Press Club of Victoria. Email Bryce at bryce.eishold@stockandland.com.au.
Bryce is a senior journalist with Australian Community Media's Stock & Land where he reports on all aspects of agriculture. Bryce is also the president of the Rural Press Club of Victoria. Email Bryce at bryce.eishold@stockandland.com.au.
