Australian table grape and citrus producers will unfortunately continue to access their flooded orchards by canoe or boat due to extensive flooding. Millions worth of produce is stuck with growers facing these losses as water is not expected to recede anytime soon.
Worse still, the Murray River has not reached peak flooding yet, which means producers in parts of Victoria and Mildura have to possibly endure a few more months of flooding. The Australian Table Grape Association says a few growers are totally inundated with hundreds of hectares of crops affected. Agriculture Victoria has reported 498 629 hectares of farmland has been affected by the flooding.
The science is unclear on what effects this kind of prolonged flooding will have on table grape vines. Producers cannot do anything other than use the boats to get around their farms.