Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (AACo), which is Australia's largest cattle company, has warned of extreme losses after record-breaking floods. It is being claimed that over 300,000 cows were drowned or washed away in the vast continent's northeast. AACo has said that four of its properties were severely impacted after unprecedented levels of flooding in the region, with extreme losses forecast for one 30,000-head station.
It further said that a clearer assessment of the losses would have a material impact on its earnings and would only be possible as floodwaters recede. Georgie Somerset of farm lobby group AgForce said, " We think that there's over 300,000 head of cattle that have been lost, drowned or washed away in the state." "We are literally ferrying one bale of hay at a time to feed the stock that we can find," Somerset added.
Graziers have been trying to keep their remaining stock alive across 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of flood-affected land. Meanwhile, Australia's weather bureau warned Tuesday that Queensland's longest river was "experiencing its most significant flood in at least the last 50 years". "Major flooding will continue along parts of the lower reaches of the Flinders River this week and into next week," it added.
