One major pineapple farming company, which also grows mangoes, has managed to escape the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Marcia, which ravaged Yeppoon, Rockhampton and Bundaberg in Central Southern Queensland, and Tropical Cyclone Lam, which hit the Northern Territory around the same time, this past weekend, February 20-21. “During Friday and Saturday we had a fair bit of soil erosion and damage, and we still have a fair few mangoes to harvest which will be downgraded because of brown spots, but we’ve been lucky to experience no orchard damage at all, and no impact on next year’s crop,” said Gavin Scurr, of Pinata Farms. Severely affected areas experienced as much as 440ml of rain in a 24 hour period as Marcia made its way down the Central Queensland Coast before heading inland.
Pinata’s Rockhampton mango farm is far enough inland that it escaped the brunt of tropical cyclone Marcia on Friday, which was still a category 3 by the time it passed through the area. As if it wasn’t enough to have pineapple crops and a mango farm in Queensland this weekend, Pinata had also just started harvesting its Northern Territory pineapple crop, the first for the company and the first pineapples to be grown in the area, before tropical cyclone Lam came through. The crop was undamaged, however, as Lam did not get close enough to the Darwin farm.
Many Queensland farmers are struggling with no running water or power, a situation that could last for up to two weeks in some areas, according to reports in ABC media, and statements issued by Growcom, the peak horticulture industry body for Queensland. “Electricity is also needed to even run the pump for water. It’s literally like being out camping, and I understand there are hundreds of kilometres of power lines to be replaced,” added Mr Scurr.
While tropical cyclones are always capable of devastation, Mr Scurr was also quick to point out that Queensland has had its fair share of these sorts of weather events. “We’ve had a few of these events now in Queensland in the last ten years,” he added.
Read more about Tropical Cyclone Marcia and Tropical Cyclone Lam via ABC Rural, and our Growcom article here.
For more information
Gavin Scurr
Piñata Farms
Phone: +61754974295
E-mail: gavin.scurr@pinata.com.au
Website: www.pinata.com.au