Heavy rains swept across Sunraysia earlier this week, leaving some vineyards waterlogged and threatening what has been a promising season. Enrique Rossi of Budou Farms says he was fortunate to be situated on higher ground.
"I'm lucky that I'm a little bit on a hill, so the water ran down, but my neighbour at the other end, I can see he got water," Rossi says. "All the low places or flat places are waterlogged. Luckily, not my farm, but there was rain, it was as much as 240mm."
© Budou Farms
Rossi describes it as "pretty much the rain of one year in two days," and notes the consequences for growers who were not as prepared. "If it's too much, luckily, we do protect the crop with plastic, and I would say in the region, probably the vast majority of growers do protect with plastic. But those unlucky ones that got waterlogged, for them it will be harder to do anything because they don't know where to pump the water."
The potential losses are significant. Rossi warns that farms without adequate protection could see their harvest severely affected. "Probably yes, whoever did not protect the crop with plastic will also have issues for sure, because you still have quite a bit of harvest to go. It could be the end for those who didn't cover, most likely. And the same, if they did cover but got waterlogged for longer than three to five days, they're going to be affected too."
The timing of the rainfall, coinciding with harvest, exacerbates the risk. "The last time you'd ever want it," Rossi says. "You put a lot of money and effort into growing your crop, and it's all a big gamble. That is the risk of farming… we get paid annually, so then in one hour or one day of rain, you can lose everything."
The disruption is also affecting exports. Rossi says delays and unpredictability in shipping are compounded by external pressures such as rising fuel costs and geopolitical tensions, including the conflict in Iran. "If that catches you, let's say you were sending by air and they divert the flight, you will be very worried, where is my fruit and what is happening to my fruit?" he says. "First is the fuel cost… depending on the market, on routes and things like that, it could be a shortage on some varieties or some windows, it might affect the price."
© Budou Farms
Rossi points out that the Arab countries are not the major market for his grapes, but supply chain interruptions anywhere can ripple through the industry. "Even so, at a fixed price, if my costs are going up, I'm losing out, and we still don't know about the shipping lines… There is a big uncertainty."
While he escaped major damage thanks to his hilltop location and the use of protective plastic covers, the scale of the storm shows how vulnerable the region's vineyards are. "Those unlucky ones that didn't cover… for them it will be much harder," he says. "Rain came on harvest when you don't need it. No good, it's not what we wanted. We were waiting for rain all year, and the bloody rain came at the wrong time."
For more information:
Enrique Rossi
Budou Farms
Tel: +61 421839145
[email protected]
www.budoufarms.com
