Flood losses could top $1 billion: farmers

Farmers believe more than $1 billion could be wiped off the value of the state's
crops in the wake of the floods that are ravaging NSW.
The president of the NSW Farmers Association, Charles Armstrong, says government
predictions of up to $500 million in crop losses are a significant underestimate.
"The true cost of the damage won't be known until people can get back in their
paddocks and survey the damage," Mr Armstrong told AAP on Monday.
"But I suspect (the figure of $500 million) is a significant underestimation."
It was possible up to half of the state's $2.5 billion wheat crop could be wiped
out, Mr Armstrong said.
"This is devastating for farmers, particularly those who have had to deal with
drought the longest," he said.
"It's ironic that after seven, eight, 10 years of drought we finally had a really
good forecast of a bumper harvest.
"But that's Australia.
"It's happened before. It will probably happen again."
Mr Armstrong said he had spoken with both state and federal agriculture ministers
about assistance for farmers.
"The real pressure for farmers is the debt hanging over their head, and the expense
of the next crop," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Insurance Council of Australia said the NSW floods could not
yet be declared a catastrophe.
It was not yet possible to estimate the possible cost of the floods to the insurance
industry, she said.



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