Confidence remains in dairy goat industry despite lack of representation
After being dropped by the major milk processor they were supplying, Shannan and Marcus Jessen were facing an uncertain future.
The dairy goat farmers were in the process of taking over the family farm from Marcus's parents Dan and Peggy Jessen.
They milk about 2,000 goats, producing 1,000 litres of raw milk a day at their farm in Clifton, southern Queensland. But in February this year, they got the news their processor was stopping its goat milk line.
Despite the setback, the couple remain positive for the future of their own farm and the wider dairy goat industry.
They now supply a cheese and yoghurt manufacturer and have created their own line of freeze-dried raw milk powder.
"We had to really kick it into gear, find some fresh bulk markets, which we did straight away," Shannan Jessen said.
Niche but longstanding
Dairy goats have been a part of Australia's history since goats were brought on the First Fleet as a source of meat and milk.
An industry eventually formed, and it now supplies milk, cheese, and even infant formula to domestic and overseas markets.
But despite its long history, the industry never organised and it has been facing an uphill battle for recognition.
In Australia, dairy industry organisations represent the dairy cow industry.
"There's nothing really for dairy goats and there are quite a lot of dairy goats in Australia," Ms Jessen said.
Shannan Jessen is also the federal export officer of the Dairy Goat Society of Australia, a breed society.
It maintains the stud registration system, keeping records of its members, but it is not mandatory to be a member if you breed dairy goats and it does not represent or lobby for the industry.
Research and development
It is not known exactly how many dairy goats there are in Australia, data is limited, and the federal agriculture department does not keep specific data on dairy goats.
The data kept on goats is for the goat meat sector as it has been the beneficiary of research and development from Meat and Livestock Australia.
A report was commissioned in 2016 by Agrifutures, an agricultural research and development corporation to get a sense of the size of the dairy goat industry.
The report only examined the 68 dairy goat farms specifically licensed to make food products and not all farms took part in the survey.
According to the report, the national commercial milking herd is estimated to be more than 46,000 goats producing more than 16.8 million litres of milk annually.
In comparison, Dairy Australia reports the dairy cow industry has about 5,800 farms registered with more than 1.5 million dairy cows.
The Agrifutures report described the industry as "fragmented" and said it would need to determine what the return on that investment of more research would be before progressing further.
It is not known whether further economic analysis was done.
Shannan Jessen said, in Australia, there were only around six to eight farms with large milking herds, which made it hard to organise as an industry.
"When you've got only say four companies probably owning those farms, it's very difficult to create a governing body," she said.
Genetic recognition
Even without formal organisation, Ms Jessen said Australian dairy goat genetics were sought after worldwide, with Indonesia one of the biggest markets.
Kylie Hopkins and her partner Leo started with dairy goats about 15 years ago at their home on the outskirts of Rockhampton in central Queensland.
Like many breeders, they did not aspire to be commercial dairy farmers.
Instead, their focus was to just breed a high-quality herd of Anglo Nubians.
"We decided that we weren't going to breed goats that weren't productive," Ms Hopkins said.
Since day one, the couple has tested their milk and recorded the details of the quality of milk and the quantity each doe produced.
"That is how we got to having probably the quality of animals we have now," she said.
The couple only has a small operation — milking up to 20 goats in a year — but even a small herd can produce a lot of milk.
Ms Hopkins did not want to produce food products and instead used the milk to feed to pigs for milk-fed pork as well as making soap.
She used social media to teach others about dairy goat husbandry.
"If we can help other people, I think we're fulfilling some type of civic duty," she said.
Despite the processor setback and the lack of formal organisation within the industry, Ms Jessen was confident in the future of the sector.
"There are a lot of farmers out there wanting to do products themselves, which I think is absolutely amazing," she said.
"I think it does have a big future."
Credit - Megan Hughes and Brandon Long, ABC News, 20 October 2024
Multinational company Lactalis announces Echuca dairy factory will close resulting in 74 jobs lost
In short: French company Lactalis will close its Echuca dairy factory, potentially axing more than 70 jobs.
In short: French company Lactalis will close its Echuca dairy factory, potentially axing more than 70 jobs.
The company will invest about $85 million to upgrade its Bendigo site and some jobs could be transferred to this site.
What's next? The company is holding meetings with staff, but no firm date has been given for the site closure.
Dairy company Lactalis Australia has announced it will close its Echuca factory, on the border of Victoria and New South Wales in northern Victoria, axing up to 70 jobs this year.
But the company says it will expand its operations in the larger regional centre of Bendigo, potentially creating new jobs at this site.
Lactalis announced today it would invest $85 million over three years to expand its manufacturing and supply chain at other Victorian sites.
Chief executive officer Mal Carseldine said in a statement the French-owned multinational company decided to shutter Echuca after a "detailed review" of its yoghurt and desserts division.
"The plan sees us have one regional hub in Victoria that is fully utilised," he said.
He said the selection of the remaining milk factory took into account milk processing capability, operating costs, and site layouts.
"Based on this criteria, our Bendigo site was the most suitable option for us to invest in to meet our future needs in Victoria," Mr Carseldine said.
Mr Carseldine said the company was consulting with its Echuca team about the decision and how to best support workers through the transition.
He said the closure could impact approximately 74 employees and contractors.
"This is not a decision we take lightly," Mr Carseldine said.
"For some employees, there will be opportunities for redeployment to other Lactalis sites and those opportunities will form part of the discussions with individual employees."
He said the investment, much of it focused on Bendigo, would see more jobs, a new production line, and more yoghurt and custard capacity established at the Bendigo site.
Local MP devastated
Victorian Nationals leader and member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh said he only found out about the closure on Tuesday night when the company emailed him about it following a meeting with Echuca staff.
He said he was devastated on behalf of the workers and the community.
"The questions I will have for the CEO when I talk to him next week will be 'Why did you not invest that money in Echuca? Why invest it in Bendigo?'" Mr Walsh said.
"They have had a strong presence in Echuca for a long time — a great place as I understand it [with] a very loyal workforce there.
"Why didn't they invest in Echuca?"
Seven dairy processing facilities have closed since August 2022 including Bega's Betta Milk factory in Burnie earlier this year and consolidating its sites in Launceston and Kings Meadow, and last year Saputo closed its Maffra factory.
Union shocked
Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union organiser Chris Spindler said they had heard rumours that the site would be closed but said the announcement was still shocking.
Mr Spindler said the factory had been a prime site for the company with state-of-the-art machinery used on site.
"We don't fully understand the rationale behind [the closure decision]," he said.
"We prefer that they sat down and spoke to us at length before making that announcement to give us their concerns and to see what could be done in terms of saving the site."
Supplied by ABC Rural, Vic Country Hour, Callum Marshall & Warwick Long
10 April 2024
12 floods in four years leave Shoalhaven farmers facing huge clean-up costs
Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley said flood damage was all too common in the region.
"Shoalhaven has just clicked over the dubious record of having its 13th natural disaster in the last four years, 12 of which has been floods and severe weather events," she said.
"Our farmers have been suffering because it inundates their silage and their fields.
"So many of our dairy farmers are again waking up to a sodden mess and wondering how they're going to get through another period of time feeding their cattle, particularly coming off the fact that the last flood they experienced was in November 2023."
Joshua Becker and Romy Gilbert, ABC Illawarra, 11 April 2024.
Read the full article here.
Australia's shrinking dairy industry continues to wither as milk is trucked across the country
Dairy lovers looking to buy local should check the label next time they take the cap off a bottle of milk.
The exodus from the industry has resulted in dairy processors trucking fresh drinking milk thousands of kilometres across the country to meet increased demand.
"It is very sad when people that love dairy farming have to cease because of the business circumstance," said dairy farmer and president of advocacy group eastAUSmilk Matthew Trace.
"Even though they love it, and people still want the product."
Mr Trace says demand is not the issue, but supply is a problem in Queensland.
"We're basically at a 50 per cent deficit, so about half of what's consumed," Mr Trace said.
"There is a lot of milk not far over the border in New South Wales, but there's also a significant amount coming all the way up from Victoria."
Changing industry
Since 1980, Dairy Australia estimates the number of dairy farms declined from 21,989 to 4,163, but the average herd size grew from 93 to 305 cows.
The trend is towards fewer farms, larger herds, and increased production.
Supplementary feeding and improved breeding have more than doubled the average dairy cow's milk supply from 2,900 litres in 1980/'81 to 6,164 litres in 2022/'23.
Victoria leads Australia's milk production with 2,774 registered dairy farms, compared to 466 in New South Wales, 351 in Tasmania, 278 in Queensland, 182 in South Australia, and 112 in Western Australia.
Since 2006/'07 Dairy Australia estimates the number of registered dairy farms dropped by 62.13 per cent in Queensland, 49.57 per cent in New South Wales, 49.55 per cent in Western Australia, 48.67 per cent in Victoria, and 26.11 per cent in Tasmania.
In the same period, Australia's milk production only reduced from 9,583 million litres to 8,129 million litres.
Johanna Marie and Jennifer Nichols, ABC News, 4 December 2023.
To read the full article, click here.
Queensland's Radel dairy farming family to leave industry after 117 years
After 117 proud years of dairying, and four years bottling their milk under their own popular Central Queensland Dairy Fresh brand, the Radel family has made the hardest of decisions, to exit the shrinking industry.
"It is a very emotional thing, these cows are like family. The reality is you spend more time with these cows than you do with a lot of even your best friends," he said.
The independent Cooloola Milk processing plant had been bottling Robbie's milk at Dagun, near Gympie, but the factory's owner is planning to retire and has put it and the surrounding land up for sale.
Mr Radel's approaches to other dairy processors failed to secure a viable deal.
He was upset that despite the fact Lactalis (Parmalat) trucks drive right past his Coalstoun Lakes farm in the North Burnett, the French-owned company refused his offer to supply them with milk in a market where demand far outstrips supply.
They share a rocky past — Mr Radel has publicly blamed poor prices from Lactalis for the bank "forcing" them to sell their much larger Biggenden-based dairy.
"I spoke with their [Lactalis] field officer who said, 'Oh yes, that sounds good, yes, the truck goes past, send me some of your test results from the quality of the milk and the volumes,'" Mr Radel said.
"And before I even had a chance to do all that I received a text message from her just saying I've spoken with management, and they're not prepared to take you on as a supplier.”
"They drive literally past my gate but would rather drive to Victoria and pick up milk to bring into the Queensland market than pick up someone who has got 117 years of supplying high-quality milk."
After declining to comment this morning, a Lactalis spokesperson provided a written response this afternoon.
"We were one of many dairy processors that the farmer approached, and we are deeply saddened to hear that the farmer is now closing their dairy farm," the statement read.
"At the time that the enquiry was made to Lactalis on 17 July 2023 we had sufficient milk to meet our requirements.
"Under the Dairy Code of Conduct we are obliged to publish our Milk Supply Agreements, by 2pm on 1 June and have the Milk Supply Agreements finalised with each of our farmers by the start of the new milk season commencing on 1 July."
Jennifer Nichols and Johanna Marie, ABC News, 23 November 2023.
There’s more to this story, to read the full article click here.
Flood-ravaged dairy cooperative Norco delivers $9.1m profit while paying farmers record milk price
Despite a catastrophic flood forcing it to shut its ice cream factory in early 2022, Norco has delivered a $9.1 million profit for 2022-23 — up $0.2 million.
It has done so while paying its farmers a record milk price for the dairy cooperative of 87.08 cents per litre, with the increase costing an additional $30 million.
"Our farmers needed that price increase, they deserve that price increase and it was great that being the cooperative in the region, we were able to drive that for our members and for other dairy farmers in the region also," chief executive Michael Hampson said.
Mr Hampson acknowledged the past two years had been difficult and significant changes had been made to the business as a result.
Kim Honan, ABC Rural, 19 October 2023.
To read the full article, click here.
Rural Australia is pockmarked with small dams. Researchers say they could also be 'batteries'
Australia along with the rest of the world, is embarking on the largest energy transition in history as we seek to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and combat the dangerous climate change they are causing.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has identified energy storage as the most pressing need of the next decade in that transition.
Storage capacity needs to be increased around 17-fold by 2050, and AEMO has singled out large-scale pumped hydro as a key strategy in helping to stabilise the grid.
But although micro-pumped-hydro energy storage won't play a role in grid storage, Dr Gilmore said it may still help rural Australians reduce their own emissions while stabilising their own energy supplies.
"There was a survey they did in the US and ... one of the really interesting stats was, if you'd experienced an outage in the last six months, you were four times as likely to get a solar and battery system, as opposed to just a solar system.
"So I think security is a big one. People want to feel like they've got a reliable power supply."
To read more of this article, click here.
Source: Nick Kilvert, ABC Science, 7 Sept 2023.
Murray-Darling Basin plan revived with controversial water buybacks, but won't include Victoria
Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has brokered a deal to re-write Australia's $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan, steamrolling Victorian Labor, and allowing for the widescale resumption of controversial water buybacks and an extension to deadlines for major infrastructure projects.
The new agreement among basin states excludes Victoria, and will require New South Wales to backtrack on its previous opposition to buying back water entitlements in exchange for more time to deliver water-saving projects.
Under the agreement, the federal, NSW, South Australian, Queensland and ACT governments will seek to:
Allow Commonwealth buybacks of irrigation licences to return 450 gigalitres (GL) of water to the environment
Extend the deadline for recovering the 450GL target from June 2024 to December 2027
Grant an 18-month extension to state-run water-saving projects from June 2024 to December 2026
Allow for new water-saving projects to be established and completed by December 2026
"We know that south-east Australia in particular is getting hotter and drier … the next drought is just around the corner," Ms Plibersek said.
"We can't stand by and allow our threatened species, our rivers, our wetlands, and the three million people who rely on this river system for their drinking water to be unprepared for the next dry period."
To read the rest of this article, follow the link here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-22/plibersek-brokers-new-murray-darling-basin-deal/102758998
Source: Kath Sullivan, ABC News, 22 August 2023.
Milk drought in Far North Queensland dairy towns blamed on ‘perfect storm’
A region once home to hundreds of dairy farms has been running low on milk, with supermarket shelves stripped bare of the essential item.
The Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns, was built on the back of the dairy industry.
In 2000, about 185 local milk producers supplied the local factory. Today, that number has dropped to about 45, with many squarely pointing the finger at the impacts from the deregulation of the dairy industry 23 years ago.
Local dairy farmer and former Dairy Farmers Australia director James Geraghty said milk was being trucked in from Brisbane, but demand had outstripped supply in several Far North Queensland towns, including Atherton, Malanda and Mareeba.
To read the article in full go to: ABC News
Source: ABC Far North, Kristy Sexton-McGrath, Adam Stephen and Charlie McKillop, 4 May 2023
How feed additives could cut methane emissions from livestock by 90 per cent
Scientists appear to have solved one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the global meat industry — how to dramatically reduce methane emissions from cow burps.
Now the race is on as several companies try to commercialise their feed-additive tonics as pills, pellets and powders. Read More…
Source: Eliza Borrello, ABC News, 26 February 2023
Farmers concerned at potential foot-and-mouth spread as Australia and Indonesia tackle outbreak
The Indonesian government and farmers are implementing strict controls to contain the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
Nathaniel Rose kept his shoes and sandals separate from his main baggage as he travelled home from Bali to Melbourne last week.
During his 10-day holiday on the Indonesian island, Mr Rose said he was aware of concerns that tourists visiting Bali might bring foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) back to Australia, including via contaminated soil on footwear.
"I did one trip to Mount Batur that could be considered rural. We walked through the village along the dirt track," he said.
As per Australian government advice, Mr Rose thoroughly cleaned his footwear before he got on the plane.
"There were foot-and-mouth disease signs at Denpasar Airport," he said.
"When we got off [the plane] there were biosecurity officers and we had to walk on a disinfectant mat."
An outbreak of FMD could devastate Australia's livestock industries, cost the Australian economy around $80 billion, and lead to many animals being slaughtered to control the disease.
Those potential consequences are why the agriculture industry here has been on tenterhooks since an outbreak began in Indonesia in May, with some calling for a travel ban.
Farmers and authorities in Indonesia are working hard to contain the virus's spread, while the Australian government this week committed $10 million towards biosecurity measures in Indonesia to tackle the outbreak.
FMD is a highly contagious animal disease that affects all cloven-hoofed animals and is carried in many ways, including by live animals, in meat and dairy products, soil and untreated hides.
It is commonly spread between animals through inhalation, ingestion and contact with infected animals, but is not transmitted to humans, including by eating affected meat.
The virus is different to hand, foot and mouth disease common in children.
Local farmers implement strict controls
The outbreak in Indonesia is the biggest since 1990 and is estimated to be costing the local economy $200 million per month.
Since May, 479,000 animals have been infected with FMD in Indonesia.
More than 9,000 animals have been killed to try to control the virus's spread, while another 5,189 have died from the disease.
The province of East Java currently has the highest number of infections, with a mix of farms in that area, including smaller traditional farms and others run by large companies.
East Java's biggest dairy farm is owned by Greenfields Indonesia, a company established by a group of Australian and Indonesian entrepreneurs.
The farm, with 16,000 cattle, has implemented strict biosecurity measures, despite no cases of the virus being detected there.
Richard Slaney, from Greenfields Indonesia, said the company's cattle underwent frequent health checks and were being vaccinated against the disease.
Mr Slaney said there were also strict controls to clean workers' dirty clothing and footwear, vehicle tyres and animal feed.
"No outside visitors are allowed to come [to the property]," he added.
He said vehicles were sprayed from "top to bottom".
“All vehicles have gone through an additional cleaning process and very strict controls are also applied to the milk tank transport vehicles," he said.
Small farmers can't afford vaccines
Robi Gustiar is a cattle farmer and the secretary-general of the Indonesian Cattle and Buffalo Breeders Association that represents small farmers who have between five and 30 cattle.
He said smaller farmers were also doing what they could to control the outbreak.
"For farmers who have up to five cattle, they spray disinfectant in locations around cattle pens and on vehicles."
He said some farmers were still waiting for vaccines from the government, while medium and larger traditional farmers were proposing to purchase vaccines independently to access them faster.
Mr Gustiar said small farmers could not afford vaccines and distribution was not easy.
"Indonesia is an archipelago country, so transportation is a problem. They [need to] make sure the is vaccine still active when it reaches the cattle," he explained.
Australian government support for Indonesia announced this week included supplying more vaccines to Indonesia as well as protective equipment, training and expertise.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said $4 million of the $10 million dollars allocated was for vaccine purchasing.
"This is on top of support already announced for Indonesia, which included 1 million doses of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine and almost half a million doses of lumpy skin disease vaccine already committed by the Australian government," he said.
Disaster authority bolsters Indonesia's response
According to Indonesia's Foot and Mouth Taskforce, more than 1.2 million doses of vaccine have been administered to animals.
Spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito said he hoped that the outbreak would be under control by the end of the year.
Mr Adisasmito added that there had been no new reported infections in six provinces, including Bali, but cases were still spreading in other areas.
The taskforce is overseeing the implementation of a raft of biosecurity measures, including treatment and recovery of livestock, livestock testing, conditional slaughter and vaccination.
"Foot mats and disinfectant spray [have been placed] at the arrival and departure of Ngurah Rai [Denpasar] and Sentani International [Jayapura] airports, and other areas that are included in the foot-and-mouth-free zone," Mr Adisasmito said.
Professor Rochadi Tawaf from the Committee for Agricultural Empowerment — a not-for-profit organisation in West Java — said Indonesia's response to the outbreak had improved since the National Disaster Management Authority was assigned to tackle the outbreak.
"For me, this means that the government is already handling the situation correctly and making it better, and the farmers also made their contribution by managing their cattle better than before," he said.
Farmers remain concerned about disease spread
Welly Salim is originally from Indonesia and has been in the cattle business for 25 years.
For the past 10 years, he has lived in central Queensland, near Rockhampton, and owns about 1,400 cattle.
Despite all the precautions, he, like other farmers, remains concerned about the possibility of FMD reaching Australia.
Mr Salim said that, while the Indonesian government may not have done enough to reassure Australian farmers, some comments from Australians politicians have inflamed the situation.
"I think some comments from politicians are over-statements on the possibility of tourists bringing back the virus, but the threat is real," he said.
"We need to find the most-friendly solution for Indonesia, to help Indonesia to solve the problem."
Mr Salim pointed out there would also be a huge impact on Indonesia as well if the disease spread to Australia.
"Indonesia is the biggest market for live cattle export from Australia," he said.
"Indonesia needs around 600,000 tonnes of boxed beef every year."
Source: Sastra Wijaya and Hellena Souisa, ABC News, 14 August 2022
Farmers count the cost of south-east Queensland floods
Dairy farmer Luke Stock says the flood damage to his farm is "devastating".
Luke Stock looks out over the sodden field of his dairy farm, pockmarked with rubbish and destroyed fences, and reckons this mess will take about three years to recover from.
He'd know; it's the third time since 2011 his property in Queensland's Lockyer Valley has flooded.
"The good thing is we got through those floods and we probably come out stronger," he said.
"We put things in place from a risk-management point of view to get through those things, and we'll come out stronger from this one. It just takes time."
Mr Stock said last week's floods peaked at the same level as 2011 and 2013.
"It's devastating, to be honest," he said.
"[There are] no internal fences left. The majority of our boundary fencing [is] gone."
The floodwater also cut roads and power to the property, meaning milk could not be transported or stored.
"We would have tipped out 5,000 to 6,000 litres of milk," Mr Stock said.
"The tally will be huge. I don't think we'll come out of this for anything less than $100,000 if you take in fences, feed cost, dumped milk, repair to our driveway.
"But we'll get there. I'm confident."
Dozens of volunteers from the nearby Our Lady of Good Council school have been at Mr Stock's farm standing up fences, clearing paddocks and, most notably, lifting spirits.
"[They are] people that we've known for a long time, people that we've known for a couple of years, people that we've just had to opportunity to meet today," he said.
"This will go so far to getting us back to being a running farm again."
Scenic Rim crops ruined
In the neighbouring Scenic Rim region, farmer Fraser Macfarlane is pumping water off his sodden fields.
The heavy rain overfilled his dam and breached a levee meant to protect his crops.
His nearly 50 acres of organic soybeans, sweet corn and green beans have been transformed into a wetland — a home for ducks and corellas.
He has watched two-thirds of his annual income drown, but he remains upbeat.
"One of our banks has agreed to going interest-only for a year and I'm asking our other bank for the same thing, so that'll make a big difference," Mr Macfarlane said.
"Every bit of outgoing [money] we can reduce makes it that much easier to keep going."
He said he had not had time to look at the government assistance available to flood victims but would take any help that was offered.
The state and federal governments have announced a wave of financial assistance for flood-affected farmers.
Producers from 15 local government areas can access grants, which cover a number of things, including household essentials and home repairs for the uninsured.
Crops were ready for harvest
Scenic Rim Deputy Mayor Michael Enright said it was a particularly bad time for farmers to be flooded, with many crops ready to harvest soon.
"When it comes to harvesting the product, you've spent all the energy and time and resources in getting the crop out of the ground and provided the best growing environment," he said.
"So all of the cost has been sunk into the produce at that stage and no income is received until that is harvested."
He said the flood crisis highlighted the importance of farmers in a functioning society.
"I think we saw through this week a shortage of milk as well as many other fresh vegetables," he said.
"Our farmers play a vital role in the wellbeing of our whole population and I think if people realised the impact that natural events like the floods have and the impact it has on providing fresh food to our population, then I think they would be in a better place to understand the impacts it has had on our farmers."
Source: Tobias Jurss-Lewis and Jemima Burt, ABC News, 7 March 2022
Queensland's wet weather continues, with more than 400mm of rain falling in three hours
Parts of Cooran on the Sunshine Coast remain underwater after severe rainfall triggered flash flooding in the south-east.
It was a very wet night for Queenslanders from Gayndah to Gympie and up to Agnes Water, with the North Burnett copping the heaviest falls after a severe weather system crossed the coast.
Meteorologist Helen Reid said the heavy falls were isolated, but it was going to be another wet day.
"A lot of that fell in the three hours until four o'clock this morning, so it's been very wet there," she said.
"Those large numbers will not necessarily stay in the same spot and somewhere else later today might pick up a big number."
Ms Reid said there was a trough sitting roughly between 1770 down to Gayndah and into the eastern parts of the Darling Downs, "where we can see an intensity of rainfall".
Old Range Road, north of Biggenden, received 161 millimetres in the hour before 4am and 423mm in three hours.
The gauge at nearby Fig Tree showed 319mm of rain since 9am yesterday and nearby Paradise Dam recorded 221mm, including 75mm in 30 minutes while Hills Road, near Seventeen Seventy, recorded 142mm in the hour to 5am.
The bureau also issued an alert at 5.30am for very dangerous thunderstorms south-east of Seventeen Seventy and south-west of Eidsvold.
North Burnett Regional Councillor Melinda Jones said residents of Dallarnil were also heavily affected by the deluge.
In addition, the Sunshine Coast hinterland is also likely see some big rainfall totals today.
Pomona received 210mm overnight, with another 200mm forecast for the region throughout the day.
A coastal trough had been building off the coast for the better part of this week.
Yesterday evening it was thought Queensland would be spared from its onslaught, but it moved onshore overnight bringing with it the massive rainfall totals.
Severe weather warnings issued.
Source: ABC News, 25 February 2022