Dairy farmers in Victoria’s south-east are struggling to deal with wet and cold conditions.
Kevin Jones, who farms between Toora and Foster in South Gippsland, says that so far this month he’s had more than 125 millimetres of rain.
They’re not ideal conditions, given his herd is calving.
«I guess it could always be worse, but it’s at the bottom end of ugly if you know what I mean. It’s so wet, it’s so cold. We’ve got nowhere dry, except for laneways, to put cows on. And every cow that calves, we just get the calf and put it straight in the shed and feed it, they just don’t survive otherwise,» he said.
Mr Jones says he is lucky to have about three weeks worth of hay and silage left to feed out.
That’s more than at least one neighbour who has completely run out.
«I didn’t actually ask him (how much milk he’s herd is producing) because I just didn’t want to deflate him any more than he already was. I suspect that things will hit the wall a little bit.»
Mr Jones says bitter winds, hail and rain showers have been constant.
«It’s just so cold. Last year it was wet, but not this cold,» he said.
«We’ve always had a lot of ducks on our dams, but it’s so cold here at the moment, even they’ve left.»
Source: Â ABC