For farmers across the ACT region, this most recent rain event has compounded issues which have steadily arisen as the south-east of the country has seen its third La Nina weather pattern in three successive years.
Huge "industrial-sized" slugs are relishing the wet weather and chewing down on the bumper canola crops from Bathurst down to Jugiong, while for farmers managing their stock, ketosis acetomenia is on the rise.
Primary ketosis is a metabolic disorder in cattle which occurs when the pasture they are eating curiously doesn't provide enough sustenance for them.
Long-serving Yass Valley councillor Ces Burgess, a Boorowa sheep farmer with decades of experience, said he was drenching his sheep every month to keep intestinal worms at bay and while the grass was growing quickly in the wet spring conditions, it held no nutrients for the stock.
"There's nothing in the grass; it's terrible," he said.
Access was difficult with even light, fat-tyred side-by-side 4WDs.
"I have two tractors bogged right now; we can't get them out because it's too wet," he said.
"Physically getting out across the paddocks is a big problem, particularly when you know there are lambs out there you need to keep an eye on."
Veterinarian Bill Ryan, who runs cattle and sheep on his farm near Sutton, said the concerning issue for farmers was while their stock appeared fat and healthy, their metabolism was poor.
"This weather cycle is bringing a range of issues we don't usually see," Dr Ryan said.
"We're seeing bugs - not ordinary grubs but industrial-sized ones - and the like that we haven't seen in years and in terms of the cattle and sheep, ketosis is the No.1 problem.
"Ironically, some animals are under more stress now that we saw in the drought."
He said while there appeared to be plenty of green grass in the pastures around the region, there wasn't enough energy in the grass "and the fat animals are most susceptible".
"If the animals are fat and they are eating the grass that's available to them now, which has no nutrients, it causes a cascade reaction where they literally just drop," he said.
"And it occurs very, very quickly.
"There's not enough energy in the food to digest it, so what the animal tries to do is mobilise energy from its fat reserves but does so in an acute way and that kills them, essentially."
He said farmers in places like the UK were "very, very familiar with this issue" because of their climate but here in Australia "we're less wired up for it".
He puts hay out for cattle and gives his sheep grain - oats, barley and wheat - on a regular basis to keep ketosis at bay and most other stockholding farmers around him were doing the same.
"People who don't know much about farming would think with that all this rapid pasture growth, farmers can actually sit back and do very little," he said.
"But it's actually a very stressful time for farmers because it's a peak time with new calves and lambs being born, so you have to be constantly out and about, keeping an eye on them.
"There are some farms cut off by flooding where the farmers physically can't get to to care for their animals."
Tom Allan, who has been farming his Symonston leasehold property for 40 years, said the long grass brought its share of problems "but there's an old saying among cockies: you can make money out of mud, but you can't make money out of dust".
After losing the same stretch of fencing on his property to floodwaters repeatedly since February, he's had to drive the posts a deeper and concrete them in place. His floodgates have buckled under the water pressure twice over the same period.
"It will be a good season ahead if you can manage your way through it with the spring issues like bloat in the cows and foot scald in the sheep," he said.
"The sheep that aren't lactating, they are doing well but any little ewes which have to support a couple of lambs, they are struggling a bit and you need to keep an eye on them.
"As the sheep move through long grass, they get more prone to foot scald, so you have to watch for that, too.
"These heavy rain events bring their share of problems for everyone but we'd rather have the rain than not."
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
