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Drovers running out of space
19 Feb 2007
Moree, in northern New South Wales, has experienced the worst drought in a generation which has created a demand for drovers to take the herds from graziers whose feed has dried up. Recent rain has provided little or no relief and drovers have been forced to cut their herds by half. Last year the Moree Rural Lands Protection Board decreased the maximum herd size from 1,000 to 500 cattle and from 10,000 to 5,000 sheep. Kevin Johns, a fourth generation drover, said that they were running out of places to go and in the past months had been forced to truck in almost 23,000 litres of water a day for the herd to drink. The mob in his care of 493 Bradford breeding cows and heifers could be worth almost $1 million depending on the price of beef. There is a demand for drovers who can earn anywhere between $2,500 and $4,000 a week. However Mr Johns believes that droving was "finished in this country". He said, "The young ones aren’t coming in and it’s a job where you can make one bad decision and get into real trouble."
The Australian, 19/02/2007
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