Stephanie Smail reported this story on Thursday, May 2, 2013 18:30:00

TIM PALMER: Graziers are blaming a combination of bad weather and bad government for record low beef prices at Queensland saleyards this week. Cattle worth up to $500 a head in past sales were sold for as little as $20 at the Longreach saleyards in western Queensland yesterday.



One local grazier says the Federal Government's offer of low-interest loans won't help, because struggling producers can't afford any more debt.



Stephanie Smail reports.



STEPHANIE SMAIL: Rosemary Champion is a grazier in central-western Queensland. She couldn't bring herself to go to the Longreach saleyards yesterday, because she knew it would be grim.



ROSEMARY CHAMPION: All the cattle that should have been on boats, probably up to about a million in the past two years are now finding that they're going to have to come down to these southern markets and exasperated by drought of course. You know, there's really no where to go with them, those young cattle are meeting an absolutely appalling market here because they've got no weight on them.



STEPHANIE SMAIL: Her cattle sold for about half of their value, but she counts herself lucky.



Andrew Ogilvie from the Cattle Council of Australia says graziers across the Northern Territory and Queensland are getting desperate.



ANDREW OGILVIE: We've got a really bad combination of situations. We've got excess stock in the wake of the live trade suspension, we have a high Australian dollar, which is limiting marketing opportunity, and the seasonal conditions are terrible and the monsoon never occurred in a lot of areas of northern Australia.



STEPHANIE SMAIL: Rosemary Champion says there's no point in taking cattle to the saleyards for such low prices.



ROSEMARY CHAMPION: I mean people will have to start shooting their animals so it'll be a much bigger animal welfare issue than ever it was over with the ban of the live export cattle, you know ban that went on Steph, because people just you know, they're gonna have to shoot their animals.



Because what's the point of putting them on the truck to travel for two days and not to pay the freight? Well you know that comes across as a real animal cruelty issue really.



STEPHANIE SMAIL: The Federal Government is offering low-interest loans of up to $650,000 to struggling farmers as part of its farm finance package. State governments will administer the loans, but they're still considering the deal.



Rosemary Champion says it's unlikely graziers will want to go further into the red.



ROSEMARY CHAMPION: Who wants another $650,000 debt on their properties? People need grants, and it's so discriminatory. Ludwig says what's a viable - explain to us what's a viable farming opportunity or a grazing operation. Who's to decide that? I mean three inches of rain can make the difference between a very, very good manager and a very poor manager.



STEPHANIE SMAIL: A spokesman for the Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig says interest rates will be well below market rates. But Andrew Ogilvie says a new approach is needed.



ANDREW OGILVIE: I believe it's totally inadequate for the scale of the problem in northern Australia, and I think they need to discuss with producers in northern Australia what they think they need to get them through this looming disaster.



STEPHANIE SMAIL: Mr Ludwig and Federal MP Bob Katter will both attend a crisis meeting for graziers in Queensland's Gulf Country next week.



TIM PALMER: Stephanie Smail reporting.