Agribusiness Australia chair Mark Allison said this had caused many problems with roads washed out and, ultimately, crops under water and livestock requiring a move to higher ground or be at risk of getting washed away.
In Victoria the flooding has seen the loss of nearly 15,700 livestock, with a further 2000 still reported missing as at the first week in December.
NSW DPI is in the process of surveying the damage seen to farming communities in that state, but the results are yet to be released.
Mr Allison said it had been a peculiar and uncharacteristic spring in Victoria, with persistent cold and wet weather and sheep producers reporting delays in lamb weight gains.
Victorian saleyard lamb yarding levels have struggled all season to match the five-year trend, running below the normal seasonal pattern for much of spring.
Compared to this time last season, there have been around 500,000 fewer lambs presented at Victorian saleyards over the year. Indeed, it has been the lowest lamb yarding since 2016.
“Into the last few weeks of December, both in 2021 and 2016, we saw a surge in lamb throughput in Victoria with saleyard numbers swelling toward 180,000 head before the market closed for the Christmas/new year break,” Mr Allison said.
“However, during the second week in December, Victorian lamb saleyard throughput eased to under 100,000 head in a very uncharacteristic trend.
“We may see one more burst of Victorian lambs before the season closes, but annual yarding volumes will unlikely come anywhere near levels seen over the past five years.
”This could mean some strong volumes of lamb are presented once saleyards reopen again into 2023, keeping lamb prices subdued early into the new year.
“It may make for some cheap lamb chops for the Australia Day barbecue.“
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