Tuesday 28 October 2025
Fire Season
Image: Jacqueline Curley
Fires have been burning in the Gulf, North West and Cape for the last few weeks. We hope everyone is OK.
We’ve been working with RFS and National Parks to improve communications around fires.
If you need assistance, equipment or crew from RFS, please ring:
North East: Chris Wegger in Mareeba - 0438 949 958
North West: Shane Hopton in Mt Isa - 0408 186 652, or Heather Mureau in Mt Isa - 0459 453 894
Central West: Fiona Quirk in Barcaldine - 0408 077 088 or 07 4651 1190
Please ring Vol (0488 002 038) or Katie (0408 786 057) if you’re having trouble getting through to RFS.
Carbon Workshops Thorntonia, Julia Creek, Cloncurry - October
Lots of great discussion, healthy skepticism, and cautious interest at our recent North West Carbon workshops at Thorntonia Station, Julia Creek and Cloncurry.
Thanks to Mo Pedersen from AgForce Training for the quality presentations and resource material, and thanks Benn Knott from Greenfields Agricultural and Environmental Services, for the subject expertise.
The key messages:
- Familiarise yourself with a carbon calculator – the supply chain will ask you for your net carbon emissions at some point
- Seek impartial, independent advice; be skeptical of anybody offering to make you big profits for carbon credits in the North
Check out the photos here:
Stay tuned for news of a potential future webinar where we will cover this material on carbon for everyone who couldn’t make it to a workshop.
All About Beef, Cloncurry
Great effort from Cattle Australia and the AgForce Cattle Board in Cloncurry on 9 October for the ‘All About Beef’ evening celebration of the North West beef industry.
We heard from Indonesia's Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Dr Siswo Pramono, about the significance of the Australian cattle industry and our trade with Indonesia, as well as from Directors of Cattle Australia and the AgForce Cattle Board, and the CEOs of Cattle Australia and AgForce Queensland, Will Evans and Niki Ford.
It was a fantastic night.
Photos here and here.
Richmond Regional Community and Jobs Expo
It was a hot day in Richmond on 11th October, but the deep shade of the AgForce North Display Trailer, the iced water bottles stored in the fibreglass sheep, Bob and Daisie, and especially the virtual reality head-sets from the AgForce SIPP Team, guaranteed a steady stream of kids through the AgForce stand all day.
Emily Kenny from the AgForce School to Industry Partnership (SIPP) team and Ageetesg Lal from CQU kept the kids busy all day with VR head sets, badge making, jigsaw puzzles and guessing competitions all designed to educate children and young people about the huge range of career options across the full spectrum of agriculture.
Thanks Braden Daley from QPS Richmond and Cait Bester from Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development in Townsville for organising and putting on a great day for the young people and kids of Richmond, Hughenden, Julia Creek and Winton. We’ll be back next year.
Check out the photos here.
Veg Fire Mapping Renewables workshops - August
Thanks to the Dept Natural Resources Veg Team (Juanita Joy, Cameron Eardman and Caitlin Grant), Rural Fire Service officers from Mareeba and Mount Isa (Chloe Swiney and Heather Mureau), and to our Members Michael and Hannah Crisp at Lorraine Station, James and Sarah Pearson at Bull Creek Station, and Juliane, Darcy, Reay and Linda Cowan at Woodbine Station, who all generously welcomed and hosted us at their homes and businesses for the day. We really appreciated the opportunity to hear your stories and see your properties and landscapes.
AgForce’s Anna Fiskbek spoke eloquently at all three workshops about renewable energy, vegetation management, and land tenure work being done by AgForce, and Noel Brinsmead was kept busy for three days printing and emailing vegetation maps of all participants properties.
Stay tuned for more North Region veg workshops next year.
Check out the photos:
Blackleg disease North West
After unexpected outbreaks of Black leg clostridial disease in North Region in August, consider prevention with 5-in-1 vaccine, usually at a cost of less than $1/dose. TWO doses are needed, from 4 weeks to 6 months apart. 2 weeks after the SECOND DOSE, animals can return to an infected paddock.
Black leg disease is a clostridial infection by a soil-borne bacterium, spores are ingested by cattle when grazing, and can cause death within 24-48 hours. There are often no visible signs, but signs can include lameness, reluctance to move.
More producers across the North are routinely dosing with 5-in-1 vaccine for prevention. Please refer to your vet for advice.
QRIDA $5M Disaster Assistance Loans available
Disaster Assistance Loans of up to $5 million are available to assist primary producers affected by the Western Queensland Surface Trough and Associated Rainfall and Flooding, 21 March – 19 May 2025.
Applications close 31 December 2026.
Interest rate: 2.14%
Loan term: Up to 10 years
Fees: No establishment fees, no account maintenance fees and no fees for early payout.
For the following LGAs:
- Balonne Shire Council
- Barcaldine Regional Council
- Barcoo Shire Council
- Blackall-Tambo Regional Council
- Boulia Shire Council
- Bulloo Shire Council
- Diamantina Shire Council
- Longreach Shire Council
- Murweh Shire Council
- Paroo Shire Council
- Quilpie Shire Council
- Winton Shire Council
Queensland Feral Pest Initiative – funding for exclusion fencing
The Queensland Feral Pest Initiative aims to provide financial assistance to eligible landholders for projects to construct exclusion fencing in rural and remote areas with a documented history of wild dog predation impacting livestock production.
The objective of the program is to support landholders whose business, involving grazing livestock (cattle, sheep, goat), has been impacted by wild dog predation to assist in the construction of exclusion fencing.
Grants of up to $5,000 are available for each kilometre of eligible exclusion fencing, up to a maximum of 50kms ($250,000).
Funding must be matched by a minimum 50% co-contribution from the applicant.
Status: Open
Closing Date: 31 October 2025
Apply here.
Guidelines for emergency fodder drops during natural disasters - Stakeholder Workshops
Join DPI for these stakeholder workshops to develop a set of guidelines for emergency fodder drops during natural disasters:
- Guidelines to apply to both flood and bushfire events
- Clear guidance for operational and logistical roles
- Clear chain of communication, command and decision-making
- Triggers to commence and cease emergency fodder drops
- Criteria for eligibility
Cloncurry
- Date: Tuesday 28 October
- Time: 12.45pm arrival for 1pm-4pm workshop
- Venue: Kuridala Room, Cloncurry Community Precinct
- Register here.
Longreach
- Date: Monday 3 November
- Time: 9.45am arrival for 10am-1pm workshop
- Venue: Fairmont Room, Longreach Civic and Cultural Centre (please note this venue is not wheelchair accessible)
- Register here.
| Regional Manager NE: | Katie Malouf | maloufk@agforceqld.org.au | 0408 786 057 |
| Regional Manager NW: | Vol Norris | norrisv@agforceqld.org.au | 0488 002 038 |
| Regional Director: | Michael Penna | NQDirector@agforceqld.org.au | |
| Regional President: | Jane McMillan | ||
| Regional Councillors: | Lara Conaghan - Lisa Magoffin - Sam Fryer - Scott Harrington - Kenneth Coleman - Ben Titley - Michael Crisp | ||
