Queensland’s wild weather rains on the farmers’ parade

Queensland’s wild weather has hit local agribusinesses to the point where some may shut, with one local boss questioning the Bureau of Meteorology’s forecasting.

The recent wild weather in Queensland has impacted local agribusinesses to the point where some may shut, with one local boss questioning the efficacy of the Bureau of Meteorology’s forecasting.

Gavin Scurr, head of large-scale producer Pinata Farms, said the company’s Mareeba site in Far North Queensland was lashed by more than a metre of rain after Cyclone Jasper hit.

“We’ve lost a fair bit of fruit,” he said. “In Mareeba we’ve had just over a metre of rain since the cyclone, and mangoes were already (in short supply), but this will shorten them up even more.”

Mr Scurr said due to blemishes on mangoes caused by the rain and wind, the fruit would be downgraded and had to be sold for juice rather than to retail outlets, despite the flesh of the fruit being fine.

“You only get 20-odd per cent of the value in juice of your premium mango,” he said.

“But consumers spend with their eyes and what they expect to see on shelves.”

After the stresses of Covid and the worker shortage, Mr Scurr predicts many farmers will simply pull up stumps.

“Short term, it’s impacted people’s crops – harvest is the most stressful time of the year because it’s the only time you get paid and you need to nail it,” he said.

“In the case of mangoes, you only get one crop per year.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if people say it’s too hard and won’t be back next year.”

Fruit grower Gavin Scurr. Picture: Lachie Millard

The dry El Nino predictions by the BOM have also been called into question by the unseasonal pre-Christmas Cyclone Jasper. “A lot of the private weather guys have got it exactly right, so it’s disappointing the BOM has got it so wrong,” said Mr Scurr.

“It’s taxpayer money which goes to the costs of BOM, so it’s unfortunate. “We’re farmers, not meteorologists – we rely on accurate information.”

In the wake of Cyclone Jasper and the floods, Rabobank executive Marcel von Doremaele said the initial impacts of the cyclone, along with the subsequent intense rainfall and flooding, had had a devastating impact on communities and infrastructure in a number of areas.

“Livestock losses are a concern with flooding and damage to fences, while there are reports of some pasture and feed losses,” said Mr van Doremaele, who is group executive for Rabobank’s country banking in Australia.

“For sugar cane, crops have been recently harvested, which will be a big relief to canegrowers.”

He said ‘‘young’’ planted cane, which accounts for about 10 to 20 per cent of plantings – may suffer from the wet weather due to newly established root systems.

“In terms of the banana crop, most growers will also hopefully have ‘dodged a bullet’ as the high winds and rainfall came at separate times, resulting in a lot less damage to the plants than if they had occurred simultaneously,” Mr van Doremaele said.

The weather events come as a blow to a sector which had until recently been showing signs of optimism returning, with Rabobank’s Q4 Rural Confidence Survey indicating Queensland’s farmers were hopeful for the coming year.

“Drought remains the chief concern in Queensland although there has been useful, albeit patchy, summer storms,” said Mr von Doremaele at the time of the survey’s release just over two weeks ago.

“Drier conditions during the El Nino period will impact the record-high crop production levels seen in 2022-23, and Australian crop production values are expected to fall by $12bn in 2023-24, according to ABARES (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics).”

Sentiment was mixed across the nation, with Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania reporting lower farmer confidence levels, while NSW, South Australia and Queensland were more upbeat.

“Good seasonal conditions were nominated as a driver of confidence by 30 per cent of farmers,” Rabobank said.

Originally published as Queensland’s wild weather rains on the farmers’ parade