Recent severe rainfall and runoff events have highlighted the importance of understanding the position and susceptibility of small farms to floods at a catchment scale. These conditions have significant implications for water management, as water may be captured and reused on-site, or else distributed through the surrounding landscape. Quantification of surface flow paths and water retention areas on farms is required to assist the management of water quantity and quality. We assessed the catchment position and major flow paths entering and leaving production nursery farms using a combined remote sensing and field validation approach. High-resolution digital elevation data formed the basis of a flow accumulation model, from which flow entry and exit points and water storage areas could be identified at the farm scale. Production nurseries located in upper catchment positions generally had fewer tributary flow paths, and where flow exit points occurred, they may be prone to runoff and/or overflows during large rainfall/runoff events. Other production nurseries located in lower catchment positions had more tributary flow paths and exit points and may be susceptible to water impacts from upstream catchment areas. Catchment-based assessment of drainage can assist water management on farms, including early identification of key hazards and risk areas for water storages and runoff into receiving waterways. This is relevant for management of waterborne contaminants in high intensity agriculture (Gomes et al., 2025) and underlies a framework to identify and mitigate water storage contamination concerns at production nurseries in NSW and the ACT (Ralph et al., 2025a; 2025b).