GEOFF and Leanne Hartwig's future is up in the air.
Mr Hartwig's family has bred and fattened cattle in the Eidsvold district for 90 years, but now the tool which enabled Mr Hartwig's grandfather to become a grazier - a 99-year perpetual grazing lease - looks set to be the destroyer of the viability of the their business.
That original perpetual grazing lease has now been transitioned to a 10-year state forest lease, which covers all of their home block Calrossie, 70km west of Eidsvold.
As reported by the Queensland Country Life in November 2010, the State Government plans to phase out grazing on 1.2 million hectares of western hardwoods and cypress state forests when current leases expire.
Since November 2010, the Hartwigs have heard nothing from the State Government.
Seven years remain on the 10-year lease.
The Hartwigs run about 400 breeders on the 14,500-hectare Calrossie, and also run about the same amount on a freehold block at Cracow, the 2800ha Pinedale.
They fatten their cattle on another freehold block at Eidsvold, the 1000ha Barrington.
Mr Hartwig said the equation was pretty simple ? if the State Government continued with its plan to stop grazing on state forests, their business would become unviable.
They live on Calrossie, just like Mr Hartwig's family has done for 90 years, and all of their sheds, machinery and infrastructure is on that block.
"If we had to get out of here, we'd have to start rebuilding all of the infrastructure on one of the other places and would basically run half as many cattle," he said. "We'd become big hobby farmers."
Calrossie has about 400ha of improved brigalow paddocks, and Mr Hartwig said in a good year could run up to 500 breeders.
They run a predominantly Hereford breeder herd and cross Hereford and Angus bulls back over these cows.
Weaners are grown out for eight to 10 months on Calrossie before they are finished at Barrington and then sold to a number of markets.
Steers are mainly sold into the Beef City feedlot at two years, and the marketing for the remaining cattle - about 400 each year - is managed by Sheperdson and Boyd.
Mr Hartwig said they often buy and sell cattle at Toogoolawah, and sold 20 milk and two-tooth steers there last week which averaged $985.
"Occasionally at the saleyards, when they've been running hot like they have lately, you can do a bit better."
As well as breeding cattle, Mr Hartwig said they also bought between 60-100 cows and calves each year which they turn into vealers and fat cows.
Despite the fact their security and future has been jeopardised, the Hartwigs continue to improve their operation. They are currently in a phase of introducing more Droughtmaster/Santa Gertrudis content into their breeding herd so the cows can better survive the tougher conditions on Calrossie.
"We quite often supplement feed through the winter; we're just trying to get a little bit hardier cow for this harder country," Mr Hartwig said.
"This forestry country is tougher for cows to live in. We are just trying to get a cow that might be able to maintain herself a bit better in tougher times.
"We will always still maintain a high Hereford content in our Cracow country so we can maintain our first cross. We like to be at 50 percent British breeds if we can.
"They're very fertile and they're still nice and soft cattle which you can sell at any age; you can feed them through to Jap Ox bullocks or you can wean them off, they're a versatile animal."
Mr Hartwig said if grazing ceased on Calrossie, the fire risk would increase immensely.
"Even the last couple of rangers we've had in Mundubbera have been on our side; they say there is no way in the world they could manage this country like we can," he said.
"We keep the fuel loads down, we burn off at practical times and keep fires under control and we're always on the lookout for pests and weeds.
"We've run Calrossie like any other property should be run. There is no way that whoever is in an office in Brisbane would have any idea of the difference between our property and another; that's what we're up against."
Mr Hartwig also hopes to have a viable option for his daughters, Charli, 16, and Jamie, 10, to come back onto the land.
"These days succession is about the only way young people can get on the land," he said.
"The country has got that dear that if they start with nothing it will be a hell of a job to buy their way in."
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