Agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank has advised of a range of measures it has in place to support farming clients impacted by prolonged dry conditions in south-west Victoria, south-eastern South Australia and parts of Tasmania. And these measures will also be extended to farm businesses impacted by recent heavy winds and flooding in Tasmania and parts of southern Victoria.
Rabobank Group Executive Country Banking Marcel van Doremaele said while the majority of the bank's clients were managing the prolonged dry conditions in these regions well and remained in overall strong positions, Rabobank was offering support where required through the current difficulties.
Mr van Doremaele said this support would also extend to farming clients adversely impacted by severe weather – including heavy winds and flooding – in Tasmania and southern Victoria in recent days, which had also damaged infrastructure and caused power outages.
"There have been very challenging seasonal conditions in large parts of south-west Victoria, the south-eastern areas of South Australia and much of Tasmania, where there have been significant rainfall deficits since spring last year into winter this year," he said. "And where there has been some rainfall received, in a lot of regions it has been patchy with many farmers missing out or receiving only very light falls.
"This has been impacting all farming enterprises in affected areas, but is particularly challenging for livestock producers. For many sheep farmers, lambing percentages are significantly down and a lot of farmers have been forced to destock some numbers due to lack of feed and lower carrying capacity. This has resulted in reduced lamb and wool production."
Mr van Doremaele said dairy and other livestock producers had also been faced with reduced availability of feed due to the prolonged dry conditions, which had left many reliant on more expensive purchased fodder and grain, which also incurs the additional cost of freight. "Further impacting this is the ability to source good quality fodder, which is becoming scarce and costly," he said.
Mr van Doremaele said Rabobank's rural managers were working closely with impacted farming clients where support was required.
"This is as we have done in previous periods of drought and low rainfall, to mitigate the impacts of the dry weather and other severe climatic conditions and to ensure our clients are well-positioned to rebuild production and financial positions when seasonal conditions improve," he said.
Mr van Doremaele said bank staff were also checking on the wellbeing of farming clients impacted by severe winds and storm events in Tasmania and southern Victoria in the past days.
He said as a global specialist in agribusiness, Rabobank took a long-term view on its clients' businesses and understood dealing with periods of extreme weather was part of being in the agricultural sector.
"It is our standard practice to stand by our clients in times of adverse conditions, where circumstances are outside their control, and work with them individually to help deal with these problems," he said.
"As a bank specialising in the agricultural sector and used to dealing with conditions like drought and other adverse climatic circumstances around the world, we have very good practices in place to support our clients whose businesses are drought-affected."
Assistance measures for impacted clients include:
- 'carry on' finance to keep viable operations running,
- waiver of break costs on early redemption of Farm Management Deposits to allow access to needed funds,
- deferral of scheduled loan payments and
- waiver of fees on loan increases necessary for rebuilding operations.
Mr van Doremaele said Rabobank's (All in One) rural loans were also specifically designed for farmers to provide financial flexibility to manage through times of difficulty.
"They are flexible, generally interest-only facilities, which allow agricultural operators to opt to pay principal reductions when they choose, which is of particular benefit in times of reduced cash flow due to adverse circumstances, such as drought," he said.
Mr van Doremaele said despite the current climatic challenges in parts of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, the overall outlook for Australia's food and agricultural sector was very sound, with a strong production expected for the current year.
Any clients struggling with the impacts of the extreme weather conditions, who were not already speaking to the bank, should contact their local rural manager or branch or phone Rabobank on 1800 025 484.
