After three years of below average wet seasons, drought declared Georgetown grazier John Bethel is rejoicing.
The first month of 2017 has delivered nearly 500mm of rain on the Bethel property, Huonfels, 46km northwest of Georgetown, in the Gulf Savannah region.
“Over the last three it’s been diabolical,” Mr Bethel said.
“Last year we all got about 13.5 inches (342mm) of rain generally across the region in March but up until then the wet season was a dud.
“That rain in March saved us because it stayed hot and humid and gave us a little bit of grass but it didn’t have much guts in it.”
Despite a solid start to 2017, where parts of far north and north Queensland received a drenching, most of the region including drought declared areas in the northwest of the state are still waiting for the wet season to kick in.
Cape York Peninsula is the exception with road closures, load limits and localised flooding, all par for course during a traditional wet season.
The Gulf Savannah, has fared better, with many properties recording high rainfalls for the month of January.
Mr Bethel, a third generation cattleman, said 2017 rainfall to date resembled that of the 2009/10 wet season.
The 26,304 hectare (65,000 acres) Huonfels, which Mr Bethel runs as one unit with an adjoining 10,117 ha (25,000 acres) block, normally runs around 4200 head but is currently stocked at less than half – with only a small portion of that Mr Bethel’s own cattle; the remaining country has been leased out.
It’s not an approach that sits comfortably with the cattleman but continued drought conditions, the live export ban in 2011 and a two-year Bovine Johne’s (BJD) disease quarantine on his Brahman stud forced his hand.
Mr Bethel said his property was located in a 812mm (32 inch) rainfall area but hadn’t received its annual average since around 2011.
“It looks lush just like the Atherton Tablelands,” Mr Bethel said.
“But it will take another three good to average wet seasons to bring all the perennial grasses back.
“It was so hot and so dry so long that most of the north has lost its perennial grass base because the soil just baked.
“We’ve lost a lot of the seedbank.
“It will take a while for that to come back, even though it’s lush it’s probably only annual grasses.
“Perennials are probably there – just that annuals grew so fast I can’t see them.”
Mr Bethel knows more rain is needed.
“I hope we get our average for the next two months,” Mr Bethel said.
“If that happens and we get a bit of run off rain in late March/early April that will set us up for a pretty good year.”
