Coffs Harbour weather: Farmers move cattle from flood as heavy rain falls

Farmers in Coramba on the Orara River are preparing for the worst and moving stock to higher ground as they face a second flood but “the ground is so wet, cattle are sinking”.

The flooding of the Orara River last month saw many properties in the rural village of Coramba under water and livestock lost - something farmers don’t want to go through again.

But authorities are predicting just that, as rain pelts down on an already saturated catchment on Tuesday, March 29.

The Department of Primary Industries has warned farmers to move livestock and equipment to higher ground and farmers in Coramba, north-west of Coffs Harbour, have heeded the warning.

Cattle farmers Brandon Statham and Damien Lindsay prepared fences that had been damaged in the earlier flood and took several herds of cattle and horses to high ground across several properties.

“You’ve got to move the livestock now because you know what's coming round.

“The grounds are already saturated and you just have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Mr Lindsay said.

Both farmers had concerns on the rising price of feed and the potential to lose further livestock with the emerging threat of yet again another flood event.

They are concerned about their animals they say are already tired and stressed which can increase the likelihood of them getting stuck in floodwaters and suffering miscarriages.

They said another risk the stock face is catching pneumonia.

“Stock is so expensive and very precious that you can't replace what you have because you can’t afford to do that and unfortunately some people have had to do that a couple of times not just once,” Mr Lindsay said.

Another Orara Valley farmer Eliezer Robinson agreed that with cattle costing $3000 each, farmers can’t afford to lose cattle as they prepare for the flood threat.

On his Eastbank Road property two waterways meet: a creek and the Orara River and when water rises it effectively cuts off access to one paddock completely.

With a moderate to major flood warning in place for the Orara River, Mr Robinson brought the cattle up to higher ground.

“It was pretty hard to get them out.

“I was sinking going across that flat in a quad bike.

“That’s just unheard of,” he said.

He has been quick to prepare this time as he had cattle trapped on that flat during the recent flood.

“When you get this sort of rain, that catchment sends all the water down and you can’t get your cattle across the creek and it cuts us off to those flats,” Mr Robinson said.

He will continue to move the cattle around the property but that too has its problems.

“As the ground is so wet the cattle are sinking and with limited hills to put 300 head of cattle on, they are turning everything into mud.”

While the farm didn’t suffer major losses in the recent flood he did lose three cows that he missed as he came down with Q fever.

In the face of possible flooding again and losing more cattle Mr Robinson said the fate of his property was in “the lap of the Gods”.