Although the summer wet season is now in the rear view mirror, any news of drought declarations or revocations for local government areas across Queensland looks to be some weeks off yet.
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries said decisions were based on the recommendations of local drought committees, along with seasonal climate information provided by the department.
"LDCs in drought declared areas have just met and discussed current conditions based on seasonal rainfall and local conditions," the spokesperson said. "Recommendations will be presented to the minister for consideration in the coming weeks."
The first four months of this year have been notably dry at Roma and nearby centres.
According to retired CSIRO weather officer Peter Nelson, there have been only five drier December to April periods for Roma in the last 153 years.
A total of 122.2mm was recorded in those months in the 2022-23 period.
The driest December-April for Roma was in 1992-3, which saw 83.8mm recorded.
In 1964-65, some 99.9 mm fell in that period; in 1914-15 the total was 109.3mm; in 1985-86 there was 110mm; and in 1950-51 the area recorded 112.3mm in those four months.
The Maranoa shire was removed from the list of drought declared shires a year ago, in May 2022.
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Drought declarations and individual droughted property declarations are official recognition that an area or property is impacted by drought, but Queensland primary producers have access to new drought assistance measures without needing or waiting for a drought declaration.
Two grant programs, the Farm Business Resilience Program and Farm Management Grants, provide training sessions to improved drought preparedness, and provide a rebate of 50 per cent to a maximum of $2500 to primary producers for the cost of professional assistance to develop resilience plans for their property.
There are also a variety of drought preparedness grants and loans, accessed through QRIDA, that offset the cost of capital improvements, which do not require a drought declaration to access.
The drought preparedness grants provide up to 25 per cent of the cost of infrastructure projects to a maximum of $50,000 over a five-year period, identified in their farm business resilience plan as improving the drought preparedness of their property.
The Drought Ready and Recovery Loans, which can be matched with a drought preparedness grant, provide a concessional loan of up to $250,000 for primary producers to undertake preparedness measures identified in their resilience plan to improve the drought preparedness of their property.
Producers wishing to access assistance should contact QRIDA on 1800 623 946 or the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries on 13 25 23.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
