The dry conditions have forced many mobs onto the region’s travelling stock routes (TSRs), prompting  the North West Local Land Service (LLS) to impose conditions on all walking stock in large mobs from mid-October. 

“They’ve got to nominate destinations and their saleyards for sale or trucking or back home where they have come from,” TSR team leader for North West LLS, Gerard O’Connor said. 

“The areas from around Gunnedah and the south of Warialda have received a little bit of recovery rain, but nothing that’s going to get us back on our feet for some time yet.

“Out west of Pilliga and Collarenabri, it is desolate. It’s like a desert.”

Currently there are 37 walking permits in place throughout the North West LLS area, which stretches from Goondiwindi, east of Warialda and Bingara to Nundle, south of Willow Tree and west to Gunnedah, Boggabri and Walgett. 

On the routes are 15,094 cattle and 5400 sheep.

There are also 131 grazing permits, which are for predominately local stock and includes 6030 cattle and 4260 sheep.

The LLS reopened stock routes in May, and since then there have been about 20,000 cattle walking around in loops. Reserves were also opened up for grazing. 

At Boggabri this week, a mob of 880 cattle was on the move from Goondiwindi where the feed situation has become desperate.

They’re heading to Gunnedah where they will be trucked to market next week. 

“Around Goondiwindi, it’s become real bad now,” drover Ben Williamson said. 

“There was good feed around Moree but there were six or seven drovers so I’ve had to keep going.

“From Moree, it’s been real good feed.”

The new stock route restrictions have been put in place due to the lack of rain and feed shortages, however some permits will still be granted. 

“We’ll be granting monthly or short-term grazing permits in areas where there is feed to sustain stock without grazing it down below our benchmarks which is 70 per cent groundcover and maintaining a feed height of 10cm over reserves,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Some of those areas, particularly around water points, have exceeded those benchmarks.”