North West Queensland's Cattle Country Transforms with Cropping Investment

As floodwaters moved across North West Queensland earlier this year, Lucas Findley was already preparing to plant crops.

His outback property, north of Julia Creek, sits in country better known for cattle than cotton.

In January, about 850 millimetres of rain fell there in a single week as widespread flooding devastated cattle properties across the region.

Yet within seven days of the last rain falling, machinery was back in paddocks, protected by levee banks, while floodwaters continued to move across the landscape.

Etta Plains Station emerged with soaked soil, full water storages and water available for irrigation through the dry season.

Before the end of the month, Mr Findley had finished planting almost 5,000 hectares of cotton.

Mr Findley, who heads Gulf Cotton, said the experience backed an argument he has been making for years.

Producers needed different options for their land, and not just because it was good for the bank balance.

Now, a $5.3 million investment could transform an emerging cropping sector into a much larger industry for the north west.

Ambitious targets for cattle country

The Queensland government and cotton and grains industries said this week they would jointly fund research through the Unlocking Farming Systems for North Queensland project.

It aims to kickstart production of 100,000 bales of cotton and grow grain and pulse production to $100 million annually by 2035.

The project will initially focus on the Flinders catchment around Hughenden, Richmond and Julia Creek, before expanding into the Gilbert catchment further north.

Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett said there would be more investment if cropping was proven to be viable over the longer term.

Putting the economics to the test

About 200 kilometres east of Etta Plains, Richmond Shire Council has been testing whether broadacre cropping would work commercially in cattle country.

A Maxwelton chickpea crop harvested by the council in 2025 returned about $300,000 after costs, a return 10 times higher than running cattle over the same area.

Richmond Shire Mayor John Wharton said buyers had already been found for this year's crop, grain sorghum, and it would likely bring in about $500,000.

"We're very pleased with the results," he said.

He believed the government's $100 million grain and pulse target was achievable.

"That could happen easily," he said.

Cr Wharton said developing crop varieties suited to the area could mean more certainty for producers facing unpredictable wet seasons.

From crops to an industry

Mr Findley said the next step would be the ability to process crops locally, particularly cotton.

The scale of that investment can be significant.

A cotton gin that opened in Katherine in 2023 cost $70 million and can process up to 200,000 bales a year.

"A cotton gin is the main enabler for this region," he said.

Mr Perrett stopped short of committing government funding to a gin, but said local processing would bring broader economic benefits.

Water key to growth

While dryland cropping, which relies on rainfall and moisture in the soil rather than irrigation, is proving successful around Richmond, access to secure water remains a challenge for expanding irrigated agriculture.

Richmond Shire Council has since shifted its focus to dryland cropping, although Cr Wharton said irrigated farming remained important for the wider industry.

The state government is reviewing the Gulf Water Plan and undertaking the Gulf Regional Water Assessment, examining future water demand and supply options.

Draft findings are out for consultation.

Where cropping meets cattle country

For Mr Findley, expanding cropping was not about replacing the North West's generational cattle sector, but building a new sector alongside it.

Around Richmond, forage sorghum is already being grown to feed and finish cattle, while grain from the council's latest crop is destined for feedlots.

The change is visible on the Flinders Highway too.

Cr Wharton said 20 years ago grain trucks were rarely seen travelling the route.

"Now you see them every day," he said.

He said advances in farm machinery had also made large-scale cropping increasingly possible, allowing producers to plant large areas during short windows between monsoonal rain.

"The soils haven't changed, the weather hasn't changed, but the gear has."