While the temperature climbs to record heights, farmers with cattle are doing it tough.David Maguire and Mick Affleck were yesterday shifting cattle from Mr Maguire’s mother’s Gunnedah property Nardoo to the Gunnedah saleyards after having found themselves out of other options.
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“We’ve run out of food out at home,” Mr Maguire said.
“We can’t go out on the cattle routes – it’s destination only. It’s either the saleyards or let them die.”
The two were driving the 140 head of cattle along the route that runs between Donnelly Fields and the Namoi River, a task Mr Affleck said was becoming more difficult as people’s priorities changed.
“Sometimes people abuse us for going past the playing fields,” Mr Affleck said.
“We have got to get to the saleyards. This is our way of life and our way of earning money. It is being replaced by stuff that doesn’t earn money. That’s the way things are going now.”
Mr Maguire said they weren’t the only ones who were facing difficult choices.
“Times are going to be tough and prices are going to fall,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has said we are looking at a hot, dry summer.
Keepit Dam is at 13 per cent capacity and falling, and the NSW Office of Water is planning to make a bulk transfer of water from Split Rock Dam to Lake Keepit to make sure water licences are met in December.
The North West Local Land Service this month brought in conditions on all walking stock in large mobs, meaning destinations have to be nominated for the stock and they cannot just be released onto routes to graze.
Mr Maguire said he believed there were still roadside areas with “heaps of feed”.
– The Namoi Valley Independent
