Farms across New South Wales in southeastern Australia have been pummeled by heavy rainfall in recent months, leaving behind thousands of dollars in damage to crops and cattle. 

What happened?

As the Canberra Times reported, prices are rising for blueberries because of the floods, but it shouldn't impact other parts of Australia. Markets in the state, however, will see 25% fewer blueberries on shelves this season, and costs for remaining fruit have risen to nearly $10 a container in some markets.

Rachel Mackenzie, CEO at Berries Australia, told AAP that high prices for blueberries would likely continue into harvesting season in September. 

"Certainly short-term (impacts are expected)," she said. "Production is growing significantly every year, so a 25% drop this year will probably bring us back to where we were a couple of years ago."

The good news is that milk and tofu prices aren't taking a hit from the flooding, but some farmers may not be able to recover from the blueberry and cattle losses. Some soybean and oyster farmers said they had lost crops this year from the erratic weather, with one farmer incurring losses of $1 million.

Why is the flooding concerning?

This isn't the first report of flooding happening recently; many other parts of the world, including Arkansas, Alabama, and Vietnam, have seen torrential downpours because of our warming planet. Some farmers have sought government help to pay for damages due to climate-related weather events.

If these floods keep happening, it will keep grocery prices high and affect global supply chains. Not to mention, ecosystems will be disrupted, and animals that depend on them will suffer. 

What's being done to help farmers?

NSW Farmers Federation president Xavier Martin told the Canberra Times that government grants would likely have to be distributed to farmers to help them recover. 

Some farmers have started growing non-seasonal crops to try to work with Mother Nature's increasingly volatile ways. For farmers dealing with flooding, it's a good idea to redirect water from plants using ditches.

One easy way to help reduce the likelihood of these extreme weather events, and therefore, benefit farmers, is to switch to all-electric appliances and try to use less energy overall. The more pollution we can keep out of the atmosphere, the better it will be for communities, farmers, and the planet. 

What single change would make the biggest dent in your personal food waste? Not buying food I don't need 🧐 Freezing my food before it goes bad 🧊 Using my leftovers more effectively 🍲 Composting my food scraps 🌱 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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