GPS tracking helped cattle farmer Steve Rohde call for help after crashing into washout

A southern Queensland farmer says this new on-farm safety and communications device saved him from a more than 2km crawl for help after crashing his motorbike on the remote property.

Southern Queensland cattle farmer Steve Rohde says on-farm safety and communications should be every farmers top priority.

Cattle farmer Steve Rohde knows all too well the dangers of living on a remote property.

Sitting between Stanthorpe and Texas, his farm is in an area which requires a satellite phone or radio to communicate.

A muster which seemed like any other quickly took a turn for the worse when Mr Rohde spotted a group straying from the pack and rode off in pursuit.

The section of the property where the stray cattle headed was dense and rarely traversed, with Mr Rohde admitting he took a chance riding through there.

He hadn’t ridden too far from the muster when he hit a washout, throwing him off the motorbike.

His ankle was dislocated, and the motorbike lay on top of him as he made a call out for help.

As a result of hitting the washout and falling from his motorbike, Steve dislocated his ankle. Photo: Supplied

“Nobody really knew where I was because it was a last-minute thing to just take off after the cattle,” he said.

Luckily, he was carrying his handheld GRS UHF which features a built in GPS and was able to send his partner the location.

Mr Rohde said without being able to send his location for help, he likely would’ve been laying in the washout for much longer.

“It gets really tricky when you’re trying to explain to someone where you are on a property, if you’re near a tree or a creek because there’s probably 1000 trees and 100 creeks,” he said.

“In this situation you couldn’t see my bike because it was down a hole, and I was in shoulder high grass, and I think trying to just continually explain where I was would’ve taken forever.”

Steve Rohde carries his handheld GME which includes a GPS tracker, with him at all times. Photo: Supplied

In hindsight, Mr Rohde said he was incredibly lucky not to have been laying there for longer, facing an at least 2km crawl back to his house.

The eye-opening incident led him to upgrade a number of their on-farm communication systems.

On farm safety has become a strong passion for Mr Rohde, describing the age-old mentality that still exists for many farmers.

“Farmers of today if it’s not broken you just don’t fix it but technology has changed so much,” he said.

“I don’t think a lot of people realise that GME especially has come such a long way with their radios and with GPS functions being able to track somebody.”

The biggest takeaway for farmers should be never to underestimate the dangers on their property.

“Don’t assume that it won’t happen and don’t assume it’s only going to happen on the high-risk stuff.”

Originally published as GPS tracking helped cattle farmer Steve Rohde call for help after crashing into washout