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July, 2021
photograph tom gannon Lindsay and Amber Rhodes’ farm at Budgeree was severely damaged in last month’s storms, they say juggling recovery ryy and regular work has been a struggle.
CLEAN-UP CONTINUES FARMERS are beginning to feel the pinch caused by recent storms as the flow on effects begin to cause extensive and long lasting problems which have put many small farms under a cloud of uncertainty. Lindsay and Amber Rhodes bought their Budgeree sheep farm just over four years ago and have worked since then to build it from the ground up. When storms tore through the
region last month it hit them where it hurts, destroying a large portion of their fencing, damaging vital sheds and causing devastating landslips which have filled up several dams on their property. “We haven’t had this place a long time and the fences were pretty much non-existent when we got here, so we’re trying to build fences at the same time and it doesn’t help when they’re getting washed out by landslides,”
may lead to financial ruin for vulnerable farms. “The system was rugged anyway because we’ve only been here a few years, we’ve built a little sheering shed and all those things take time and money,” Mr Rhodes said. “We were just getting by as it was and then you get further damage and it makes it even trickier.” Continued on page 4
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“It’s busy all the time anyway, but I suppose if you get hit and it’s just your house, you can fix it but then with us there’s all these other things that are the flow on effect which will go on for a while.” For farmers such as the Rhodes’, wet conditions and the onset of winter mean a full recovery will likely take months, exhausting time and money that isn’t readily available and causing a flow on effect that
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Mr Rhodes told Gippsland Farmer. In a similar position as many other Gippsland farmers, the Budgeree couple, who also homeschool their three children now face the daunting task of working through the winter to repair the damage while having to keep their farm operational. “I felt a bit overwhelmed when we came out that first morning seeing all the damage, I walked around and saw the shed and the land slip,” Mrs Rhodes said.
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By TOM GANNON