TORRENTIAL rain in the North Burnett has left ravaged farms in its wake, but Terry Hagenbach, Monto, is just happy to be alive.
Not expecting the levels of inundation that prevailed, Terry decided to stay in his house on Saturday as Cania Dam spilled over and the nearby Three Moon Creek rapidly filled.
Terry realised on Saturday night that he was in big trouble when he heard floating irrigation pipes banging together under his house.
"No one expected it to break its banks, but it did, and it scared the life out of me," he said.
By the time Terry contacted the council that night, it was too late and too dangerous to carry out any rescue operation, leaving him marooned in his house.
Emotional and panicked, Terry feared that his old high-set house could be swept down the creek as water surged through the foundations.
"By about 8pm I figured if the house was going, so was I," he said.
"Every time I made a phone call during the night, I just burst into tears with the emotion I could hardly talk."
Early Sunday morning the thunderous noise eased and the water gradually receded, allowing rescue efforts to take place.
Local men Bevan Benecke and Roley Alford were able to boat across the two metre-deep water covering the irrigation flats near Terry's house.
"I actually finally fell asleep after 5am and about 6.30am I woke up to a voice at the bottom of my steps and here's a bloke with his tinny," Terry said.
"And wasn't I glad to see them!"
After losing 16 calves and 14 chickens to the deluge, Terry managed to escape unscathed.
Despite his luck, Terry's employer and neighbouring dairy farmer, Graham McInnes, hasn't fared so well.
As flood water drained from the dairy, so too did a wasted 18,000 litres of milk.
With roads cut, the milk tanker was unable to access the farm to collect the milk, adding up to a $10,000 loss in produce.
Graham said this couldn't have come at a worse time, with dairy farmers already battling the recent 5c/L drop in milk prices.
"Drought conditions may send you broke slowly, but major flood conditions send you broke quickly," Graham said.
Having been through two major floods in three years, Queensland dairy farmers will be calling for sustainable prices and a renewed confidence in the milk market.
Graham fears that unless there is a rethink by the supermarkets in their $1/L milk-pricing policy, processors will have major supply problems across the state.
"This could be the final straw that breaks the camel's back, and some businesses will have to bail out of the industry now," he said.