Rural Report for Outback NT: Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Tuesday, 4 February  2014 

Drought takes its toll on Queensland cattle producers

Kerry Longergan

While Top End cattle producers are enjoying heavy monsoonal rains, over the border in Queensland, drought is impacting around 70 per cent of the state.

The dry conditions are taking a toll on many graziers, and even the big corporates are doing it tough.

CEO of the North Australian Pastoral Company, Nigel Alexander, says rain is desperately needed on many of the company's properties.

"This is probably the most severe drought we've seen," he said.

"The 2007/08 drought was a particularly bad one, but we were still able to get young cattle away.

"I think this year it's a struggle, because we'll go into it on the back of a bad year."

No compensation for backyard banana growers

Carl Curtain

The Northern Territory Minister for Primary Industry is refusing to pay compensation to a banana grower who had over 1,000 plants destroyed as part of the Banana Freckle eradication effort.

A number of hobby farmers in Darwin's rural area, including 71 year old pensioner Ross Pearce, had been hoping for more than just the one replacement banana plant currently being offered.

But in a letter addressed to the Independent member Gerry Wood, Minister Willem Westra van Holthe says only commercial growers will be considered for the reimbursement of costs.

Ross Pearce from Howard Springs says he doesn't understand why smaller operators can't be looked after.

"They're telling me I'm not going to get any compensation for my banana trees," he said.

"That's 1077 banana trees they chopped down, and they're going to turn around and give me one tree later on?

"I think that's a little bit unfair."