Ag billions at risk as farmers fear supply chain crunch

Farmers are calling for authorities to audit rail lines exposed to floods and rainfall, amid fears of a looming supply chain crunch that could cost billions of dollars this harvest.

Authorities must immediately audit all rail lines exposed to floods and record rainfall amid fears of a looming supply chain crunch that could cost the agriculture industry billions of dollars this harvest.

That’s according to key farm leaders after the vulnerability of the nation’s supply chain was again exposed last week with the derailment of a 55-carriage freight train on a major rail line in western Victoria that links grain growers in the west of the state with the Port of Geelong.

Leaders also say the repair of broken roads must also be accelerated to ensure the efficient movement of imminent harvests from farms to storage to bulk freight railways.

Victorian Farmers Federation grains council president Ashley Fraser said it would be disastrous for agriculture should the rail network close during this year’s harvest.

“It is hugely important that rail and road flow seamlessly at harvest, but it is going to be horribly disjointed this year and we cannot afford delays when time is so heavily against us,” Mr Fraser said.

“The amount of road damage tells you that patrols should be doubled across rail networks to find weak patches and ensure it can handle extra traffic in coming weeks.”

Floodwaters washed ballast from a section of rail line between Bogan Gate and Yarrabandai, New South Wales. The track carries million of tonnes of grain every year from storage sites in Condobolin to Port Kembla. Picture: Supplied

One million tonnes of Victorian-grown grain valued at $400 million was moved from 29 grain sites to the state’s ports on the V/Line freight rail network between July last year and April.

An average 650-metre long fully loaded train carries about $880,000 worth of grain and is equivalent to 50 loaded trucks.

However, flooding and extreme rain along the eastern seaboard in February and March, followed by a prolonged wet winter and spring and more floods and record rainfall in October and November has thrown rail networks in NSW and Victoria into chaos.

Beside the Inverleigh derailment there have been broken and damaged tracks and sleepers, lines continuing to be underwater, leading to speed restrictions and reduced services.

The key line connecting millions of tonnes of grains from storage sites Condobolin, NSW, to Port Kembla following winter harvest has been closed for weeks due to flooding with roads still closed throughout the region.

GrainCorp has announced the addition of 3.5 million tonnes of storage capacity for Condobolin in the past two years.National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson said a key to helping rural communities through the flood emergency was keeping the wheels of agriculture turning.

“The three tiers of government must work together better. There has been huge devastation of crops, but we are still going to see great harvests very soon,” she said.

“However, there is an impending freight challenge and if we don’t get on top of this right now rail and road delays could cost the country literally billions of dollars.”

The current backlog of road maintenance projects on stretches of regional Victorian and NSW’s 300,000km road networks ran into the billions of dollars before flood damage added billions more.

Meanwhile, there will be an explosion of road train traffic in coming weeks, facing circuitous routes and high diesel prices, with farmers eager to get salvageable crops to market and recoup record input costs and leverage high global commodity prices.

However, Mr Fraser said it was not only main roads needing urgent repairs, testified to by hordes of farmers sourcing graders to try to repair local feeder, service, unsealed and back roads to properties or storage points currently unfit for trucks.

He called on local councils to work with farmers to compile lists of urgently needed repairs for state and federal authorities holding disaster relief purse strings, and also said the VFF may seek permission from traffic authorities for road trains to be loaded on roadsides where farms cannot be accessed.

And while the east-west rail corridor was operational again yesterday after repairs to a wrecked kilometre of rail following last week’s derailment at Inverleigh, the only east-west rail corridors from Victoria and NSW were simultaneously closed for the last week for the second time this year with the Broken Hill line shut due to flooding.

Fiona Simson, president of National Farmers Federation wants ag freight networks prioritised for repair before harvest. Picture: Simon Santi

The key Cootamundra to Parkes line in central NSW, used mainly for grain haulage with several silo facilities located along the service, is also flooded out.

An Australian Rail Track Corporation representative, who operates all three lines, said the federal government-owned statutory corporation carried out regular checks, “and additional checks in bad weather”, but only when water levels recede significantly. In further bad news, record flooding and wet weather is predicted to continue for months.

However, chief operating officer of Australia’s largest private rail freight company Pacific National, Patrick O’Donnell, said many sections of regional networks lacked resilience “after decades of government underfunding”.

“This then creates freight bottlenecks and poor connectivity to crucial facilities like ports,” he said in a speech last month.

VFF grains council president Ashley Fraser wants authorities to audit Victoria’s rail network potentially damaged by flooding following a train derailment west of Geelong. Picture: Supplied

After flooding washed out 300km of east-west rail in South Australia earlier this year, the Western Australian and federal governments created a $200 million package to reduce future disruptions in moving grain from the state’s wheat belt storage sites to port.

Ms Simson said the program was a “perfect” model to rollout across flooded areas.

A spokesperson for Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said funding for road repairs was currently available through federal and state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

However, Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie said governments must “heed calls of local mayors and primary producers and step-up to lead a co-ordinated recovery.”

Deputy Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen failed to respond when asked if Labor would work with primary producers to prioritise damaged roads during harvest.

No cause has yet been given for the Inverleigh derailment.