TOMORROW'S store sale at Roma Saleyards has been cancelled, with Thursday's prime sale also unlikely to go ahead as floods continue to hammer South West Queensland.
Roma Livestock Agents Association president Paul Holm has confirmed selling will again be halted while a five tonne load limit is enforced across State roads and floodwaters subside.
If Thursday's sale is called off as expected tomorrow morning it will be the second consecutive week of cancelled sales at Australia's largest cattle selling centre.
Mr Holm said he was confident sales next week would go ahead as normal.
"Where do we get the cattle from and how do we get them here? They are the two major problems we're facing at the moment," he said.
"I said last week that I was confident this week's sales would go ahead but I didn't expect the amount of water that has come through. I can't remember a time when sales at Roma were cancelled two weeks in a row."
The heavy weather that has pummelled large tracts of Queensland and northern NSW in the past two weeks has revived shocking memories of last summer when January rains proved deadly and costly to the Queensland farm economy and regional infrastructure.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads has advised that road closures in the South West region will remain in force until inspections and any necessary emergency repairs can be completed.
The department is giving top priority to inspecting roads, bridges and other structures as soon as physically possible.
In particular, the Maranoa River Bridge has experienced the force of unprecedented floodwaters and needs to be deemed safe before it is opened to traffic.
Initial inspections have shown severe damage to the top of the bridge, including the railing having been completely demolished and large trees and debris piled against the deck.
AgForce said aerial surveys showed outlying properties had also been hit hard by record river heights.
AgForce Cattle president and Mitchell local Grant Maudsley spent many hours over the weekend flying over flooded country around Mitchell, Roma and St George and said farmers and graziers are only just holding up after experiencing three major floods in two years.
"We dropped in on some homesteads to check how families are faring and found some very flood-weary folk," Mr Maudsley said.
"Just like so many Queenslanders these families are facing major clean-ups of their homes, but they are also confronted with the daunting and costly task of rebuilding fences and infrastructure swept away by the floods.
"I saw kilometre after kilometre of fencing down and unfortunately some damage on properties may not be covered by insurance, and primary producers will have to take out loans to pay for repairs making their financial recovery even more difficult.
"Fortunately most cattle seem to be faring reasonably well on higher ground, though we are anticipating some stock losses."
The cattle market, which has been gradually backsliding since the start of the year, firmed this week in response to the wet conditions and subsequent impact on supplies, with prices across all cattle categories improving the Eastern Young Cattle Index finishing the week higher at 394.5c/kg carcase weight, up 4.75c compared with the previous Friday and 3.25c/kg cwt higher year-on-year.
Along with the rise in young cattle prices, the national average heavy steer price increased 4c, to 334c/kg carcase weight, while cows kicked 12c, to average 300c/kg (cwt).
While flooding is not as widespread as the 2011 flood disaster, beef producers across the major grazing districts of southern Queensland are expected to be constrained in moving stock for an extended period.
Queensland yardings at MLA's NLRS reported markets totalled 5681 head at the end of last week, back 52 percent on last week and 73pc on the corresponding week last year.
The cancellation of sales is already adding to an increasingly tight cattle market that's making life particularly tough for lot feeders sourcing feeder cattle and exporters battling a surging Australian dollar trading above 107 US cents today.
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