Farmers assess damage after severe thunderstorms

2005-11-28 From ABC Rural

Horticultural and grain producers in New South Wales are starting to count the damage bill after a week of severe thunderstorms.

The state's central west was the area most affected area by widespread hail, torrential rainfall and damaging winds.

The storms started on Tuesday and continued through until Sunday.

While the hail was patchy, a large number of cereal producers suffered damage with the bill expected to run into millions of dollars.

One producer near Eugowra reported losing 40 lambs as well as crops after a foot of hail landed on the farm and the associated flash flooding.

The other affected sector was the apple, cherry and viticulture industries around Orange.

One third of the apple crop was totally destroyed, while another third will only be fit for juicing.

The damage estimate is more than $7 million.

The NSW Government this morning announced fruit producers can now get natural disaster assistance, with assessments being made on cereal areas.