Australian Dairy Conference 2024: Paul Weir on the Lismore floods

Two years on from the Lismore floods, northern NSW farmer Paul Weir shared his story of endurance at this year’s Australian Dairy Conference.

Paul Weir is staying in dairy — come hell or high water.

Two years on from the Lismore region floods, the northern NSW farmer shared his story of rebuilding his farm at this year’s Australian Dairy Conference.

Mr Weir told The Weekly Times his family had faced floods before, but the 2022 soaking wreaked havoc like no other event in his lifetime.

The NSW farmer’s property is located at Tuncester, only 10 kilometres west of Lismore, where the catchments of five valleys merge.

“I can name the years off the top of my head — 1954, 1974, 1989, 2017. As a family, you remember how high the water can get in this part of the country and take the necessary steps ahead of time,” he said.

“So in the days leading up to the flood in 2022, we had a rolling check on the floods.

“We moved our herd up to the dairy, got the tractors and anything else we could move up to higher ground.”

Dairy farmer Paul Weir says despite the 2022 floods around Lismore, many farmers are sticking with milking.

The Weirs had a well-drilled plan in place but conditions proved overwhelming.

“After milking that day, the Leycester Creek was about four metres high,” Mr Weir said.

“The sun went down, so we turned every light we could on at the house, at the dairy, so we could keep an eye on things.

“By midnight we brought the cows up to the feedpad. My son Matthew mixed up some feed in the silage wagon so we had enough (fodder) for a few days.

“Between 3am and 4pm, the water was racing through the dairy and we knew this was one of the worst on record. I walked back to the house and nearly got swept away in the floods.”

The Weirs lost about 40 cows in the floods, with a further 60 found dead. For weeks, the remaining herd of 170 head were milked at Goolmangar, 15 kilometres away in a drier part of the region.

“We were so grateful to the McNamara family for the use of their farm. It got us through one of the hardest times I’ve ever had as a dairy farmer,” Mr Weir said.

With a long road of rebuilding in front of him, many farmers would decide to shift to beef or opt out of farming altogether - but not Mr Weir.

“Living around Lismore, it’s a double-edged sword,” he said. “During the drought years, we were largely untouched, so that’s the upside in living close to a lot of waterways.

“Plus, I love dairy. This has been one of the best times in my career to be a farmer, with the prices the way they are.

“We supply the Brisbane market and they cannot get enough milk. It’s as simple as that.”