IT HAS been a year of extremes for the Crosthwaite family.

Corey Crosthwaite and Angie Walker oversee farmland between Bray Park and the foothills of Wollumbin National Park that has been in the family for almost a century.

When their paddocks flooded in late March, their home was inundated.

And while they may not have lost any livestock in the deluge which swept away three milk vats, shortly after the water subsided their dairy cows began dying.

"A few days after the flood the cows were getting sick,” Mr Crosthwaite said.

He said they were suffering from oxalate poisoning, as the new shoots dominated the field above mud-covered mature grass.

"We (initially) didn't know what was killing the cows,” he said.

"It was horrible.”

They lost 15 cows in this way, and the months that followed were no easier, as painfully low rainfall saw them churn through two-and-a-half years' worth of feed in just a few weeks.

Normally lush fields were reduced to dirt, and in a rare occurrence, Mr Crosthwaite had to buy food for the cows, adding to the burden of reduced milk production.

But even with 6km of fences left to repair, the couple have welcomed the onset of rain, and have high spirits for the year ahead.

"We're really positive,” MsWalker said. "It's been a challenging year, but 2018 is going to be a good year.”

Ms Walker vividly recalled laying in bed in her father-in-law's home with their sons David, 1, and James, 2, listening to water lapping at the front steps.

But she said the community spirit in the wake of the floods had cemented this outlook, after friends and strangers alike brought them food and helped with fencing and other jobs.

Norco operations officer Greg McNamara said many of the region's dairy farmers were "incredibly resilient”, but still needed consumers' support to bounce back.

"It's been a difficult year for the Richmond and Tweed,” Mr McNamara said.

"For some farmers, it was the worst flooding they'd had in their lifetime.”