Queensland farmers say drought should be declared 'natural disaster'

F

armers are warning the Queensland beef industry is on the brink of collapse and the dire and enduring drought needs to be declared a natural disaster.

Around 75 per cent of Queensland is drought-declared and graziers are coping with their third or fourth year of drought.

John Lethbridge completely destocked his 7,000-head cattle property to survive.

With no income, Mr Lethbridge is trying to sell up his land in Hughenden after a lifetime on the land.

The ABC story - “Farmers urge Government to tackle drought as natural disaster” – quotes a farmer who says, “Many farmers were not coping with the drought's relentlessness.”