Western Queensland Graziers Grapple With Massive Livestock Losses After Historic Flooding
Louise Hoch, who had 7,000 goats on her property near Quilpie before the recent floods, now estimates nearly half of them are gone.
“We’re estimating like 3,000, but we won’t know for sure until we muster,” she said. “There’s a lot dead, a lot lost. So, yeah — not great.”
Roughly 85 per cent of Hoch’s 25,000-hectare property was inundated, with some areas still unreachable. She’s among many graziers in Western Queensland beginning the grim task of assessing the full extent of damage as floodwaters slowly recede.
Livestock Losses Reach Alarming Levels
Early projections suggest almost half a million cattle, sheep, and goats have died in the widespread flooding. Queensland Department of Primary Industries director-general Graeme Bolton said livestock losses could amount to as much as 20 per cent of affected populations.
“We’re looking at losses of cattle about 270,000 … 176,000 for sheep and about 41,000 for goats,” he said.
These figures are based on known stock levels in flood-impacted areas, though Bolton noted that accurate data remains difficult to gather in the immediate aftermath.
“Our main priority is to support primary producers in getting back on their feet,” he said.
AgForce general president Shane McCarthy said the long-term impacts on the agriculture industry would be significant, especially in terms of livestock genetics.
“Restocking will be a challenge… some of the breeding lines go back years, even generations, and you can’t replace that overnight,” McCarthy said.
Bolton added that the magnitude of the disaster is staggering. “We’re talking about an area twice the size of Victoria and around 1,300 primary producers affected.”
Financial Aid and Emergency Relief Efforts
To support recovery efforts, the Queensland government—working with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the National Emergency Management Authority—has introduced a range of grants and low-interest loans.
These include Category B transport assistance loans, Category C grants of up to $75,000, and recovery loans of up to $250,000.
An initial $5 million allocated for emergency fodder drops has been expanded to $12 million, helping to deliver essential feed to stranded livestock. Hay reached towns like Quilpie and Blackall within days, with aerial drops beginning shortly after.
“This is a marathon,” Bolton said. “Recovery will take at least 12 months, and for some graziers, it may take much longer.”
Restoring vital infrastructure, such as fencing and roads, and supporting restocking efforts are among the immediate recovery priorities.
Learning From the Past to Prepare for the Future
The current floods have drawn comparisons to the 2019 disaster in Queensland’s far north-west, when nearly 460,000 cattle and thousands of other livestock perished.
Spanning over 11 million hectares, the 2019 floods left graziers devastated and caused massive damage to properties and infrastructure.
Bolton said some graziers were better prepared this time due to lessons learned from that event. “A lot of livestock have survived thanks to actions taken based on past experience—like moving animals to high ground,” he said.
Still, he noted that the recent flooding surpassed even the 1974 records in some areas, making it an unprecedented disaster in both scale and severity.
He also acknowledged that some farmers may ultimately decide not to continue. “That’s a personal and commercial decision,” he said. “But the Queensland government is fully committed to walking alongside our producers and helping them recover as quickly as possible.”
