Farmers in Queensland’s Western Darling Downs region are counting the cost of flood damage to their melon crops.
On the Boshammers’ farm near Chinchilla about 200 tonnes of waterlogged melons will be left in the sun to rot.
A disaster has been declared in the area after last week’s flood, which destroyed the fruit.
Bindi Boshammer says it is a major blow to the business.
“At this time of year that’s our source of income, so that makes things pretty hard from now on,” she said.
Local councillor Bill McCutcheon says it will not stop the town’s biannual melon festival from going ahead next month.
“It’s just a melon-crazy day. They have all these strange events that go on there,” he said.
He says the festival is very important for attracting tourists to the region.
