Grapes cop wrath of freak storm

Wine Grape Council South Australia executive officer Peter Hackworth said the South Australian government was estimating a damage bill of over $100 million in that state alone.

“Assessors are still sizing up the extent of the issues but we’re expecting it to be a big problem,” he said.

“Many are resigned to losing this season’s production and there is a fair chance it will dramatically limit prospects for next year as well.

“At least 200 growers have been impacted; it cut a swathe virtually right through the Riverland east from Waikerie.”

On the viticulture front, Mr Hackworth said wine grape, table grape and dried fruit producers had been impacted, while stone fruit producers have also been hard hit.

In the Sunraysia, Mildura dried fruit producer Warren Lloyd said two key horticultural areas were hit by the storms.

“There is some damage in the Merbein area west of Mildura and it is also quite bad to the south of Mildura, in an area from Cardross east through Red Cliffs and over the river into NSW and areas like Monak and Paringi,” he said.

“The storm really hit in bad areas for horticulture.”

Mr Hackworth said growers he had spoken to were waiting to see how vines responded to the damage.

Forecast hot weather at the end of this week is unlikely to help recovery prospects.

“It certainly looks fairly grim.”

Mr Lloyd said the Sunraysia damage bill could easily equal that in the Riverland.

“Obviously there’s this year’s budding fruit, but also the canes have been damaged and that means growers have to start their growth patterns for the following season all over again.

“We will have to wait and see whether there is time to do that with any degree of success, given the canes had been growing for two and a half months.”

He said industry stalwarts said it was likely to be the worst storm in dollar term losses since 1977.

Both Mr Lloyd and Mr Hackworth said problems were compounded by the fact many horticulturalists did not have crop insurance.

“It was standard practice but then costs started creeping up, there were a string of years where farmers made hail claims and then it just got too expensive to get cover,” Mr Lloyd said.

“The costs associated with insuring a fresh produce crop are just too great in the most part,” Mr Hackworth said.

In terms of tree crops, there are reports of total destruction of some almond crops, but the Almond Board of Australia said while there had been some severe damage; overall it would not reduce Australian almond production by much.

This is in spite of the fact the Riverland / Sunraysia region is by far the large almond producing region in the country.

“The spread of industry orchards along 600 kilometres of the Murray and also in the Riverina has helped limit overall crop damage” Neale Bennett, chair of the Almond Board of Australia said.

“We are still receiving reports, but it appears the damage will reduce the industry’s 2017 crop by a few percent at most, but given much of the severe damage has been suffered by a small number of growers it is particularly hard on them,” he said.