"You can't put a price on genetics."
They were the words of Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association (KPCA) chairman and Yeeda Station manager Jak Andrews said in Broome this week.
He was summing up the effects of the unprecedented Kimberley floods on the region's pastoral industry, with many station owners likely to have suffered large stock losses and having to euthanise their own animals.
While he said it was too early to put a number on stock losses caused by the record floods, Mr Andrews predicted they would be in the order of tens of thousands.
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"There are a lot pastoralists out there surveying every inch of the river country on their properties and trying to do their level best to ensure that there are no animal welfare challenges or the livestock that are being found in challenging situations are being managed accordingly," Mr Andrews said.
With large sections of major roads closed, the Fitzroy River Bridge down and many station owners still unable to travel around their properties by vehicle due to the flood waters not receding, Mr Andrews said aerial travel was still being used as the main way to save livestock on stations.
While the industry had been proactive in getting livestock to higher ground and ensuring they had feed and fresh water, the Yeeda Station manager said the floods were not something the pastoral industry could have planned for.
In some areas, almost a year's worth of rain was received in a week.
"I anticipated it was going to be a difficult situation and it was going to be something that we hadn't seen before but, to be honest, the water coming down was not something even I could have imagined," Mr Andrews said.
While pastoralists typically tend to be very resilient and independent people who have a "do it yourself" attitude, he said these floods would continue to take their toll on the mental health of those affected and the industry would need ongoing support for a long period of time.
"Pastoral stations will be able to re-stock, but it's going to be a long process and it's going to be financially challenging," Mr Andrews said.
"Genetics is something that takes a long long time to rebuild...It's a lot of effort, toil and dedication that is suddenly lost and you can go back out and buy stock, but if you have been breeding in a certain direction and that is no longer on your property - it's difficult to put a price on that."
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He said the provision of road infrastructure would be vitally important for communities in the north in the recovery phase.
"We have to be able to bring supplies in to rebuild and obviously we have to get our livestock back to market so we have cashflow moving forward - so our roads are so important to us," Mr Andrews said.
Also speaking in Broome on Thursday, Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis said there were also concerns around the State's horticultural industry in the north being able to get their products to market.
"We have significant horticultural businesses in the Kununurra and Broome regions and we need to make sure in coming months that we can actually get that fresh produce back into Perth, as that's an important market for those producers," Ms Jarvis said.
"I'm still awaiting briefings on what horticultural crops there are and what months they come on stream to make sure we can support their transport to Perth."
