As a result of the January wildfires in Victoria, Australia, farmers suffered significant losses, losing more than 40 thousand head of livestock. The area affected by the fires exceeded 110 thousand hectares, according to information provided by the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF).
The financial losses from these catastrophic events are estimated to be more than 20 million Australian dollars, according to the federation.
The most affected were sheep farmers: preliminary estimates indicate that around 32 thousand sheep perished in the fires.
The total number of dead animals reached 41 thousand 336, including poultry, cattle, goats, and horses. Additionally, the fire destroyed a significant amount of agricultural machinery, barns, fences, and pastures. Damage was also inflicted on garden crops and pine plantations.
Brett Hosking, president of the VFF, emphasized that the assessment of the damage is not yet complete. “It will certainly take a large part of the year before we can accurately determine the scale of the losses,” he added.
The situation is complicated by the fact that fires continue to rage in some areas of the state, making access to affected farms difficult and hindering damage assessment.
