Cattle Feed Becoming Scarce As Blazes Continue
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA - The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service says a weather change may not provide any relief to crews still battling large grass fires in the state's central west.
20 October 2011
1 minute read
ABCRural reports that six fires in the Barcaldine and Jericho areas have been burning for days.
Inspector Tony Hazel says there's concern about losing farmland.
"Significant country has been burnt and significant amount of feed has been lost," he said.
"There are a least ten properties that have lost in excess of 80 per cent of their feed."
"The fire activity that we're seeing will probably be greater levels of fire activity today than yesterday, so we are probably in for a bit worse of a day in reality."
An Aramac grazier says beef producers in the region are now becoming concerned about a lack of feed for their cattle.
Elisha Seekamp, from Eastmere station, says truckloads of hay will be needed to feed stock, because the grassfires have burnt out huge parcels of grazing land.
"Just in the properties that we are involved with and that are surrounding us, there are potentially about 6,000 head and we moved about 1,000 yesterday," she said.
"And that's just in our immediate area, but there are many other places that are totally burnt out or partially burnt out."
"So there would be thousands of cattle that would be in a problem."
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