Elders says the Bureau of Meteorology’s incorrect declaration of an El Nino event spooked farmers into culling their herds and fields, hurting the company’s earnings, which will come in “significantly below expectation”.

Weather forecasters declared an El Nino event – which would have meant a very dry summer, and the increased risk of heatwaves and fires – in September. But Australia experienced a very wet summer instead, with Victoria recording one of its wettest summers since records began early last century.