'You know it's dry when the kangaroos stand still'

You know it's dry when the kangaroos that line the outback highways during the day stand still and watch the traffic pass rather than erratically leaping away.

Locals say it's a sign even the wildlife is feeling dehydrated.

Seven years without decent rain is really gripping regional Queensland and one of the best descriptions came from sheep farmer Roly Hughes at Thargomindah. "Right here it's like the moisture tap has been turned off altogether."

Roly is looking forward to one day walking on grass. His 100,000 hectare property is a mix of mulga bush and plains. The dust stirs and swirls constantly. He's battled hard to keep his stock alive.

Every day he's on the dozer bending mulga trees for the sheep to eat the leaves. He carries bags of supplements for the sheep to eat as well to give them vital minerals and salts, emptying them in a trough.

We expected the sheep to surge in, instead they stayed under the trees in the shade. Roly says it's not unusual.

"They'll stay there and eat tonight when its cooler. They just want to drink. At the moment I’m piping in artesian water we share with the other neighbours. Its 2.5 kilometres away."

Many of the 4000 sheep he has left are ewes who are only weeks away from birthing. He's proud they are healthy and still strong.

They've been hand-fed for years now, preyed on by wild dogs and had to contend with kangaroo mobs raiding their food and drinking water.

"We need a better management plan for the abundant wildlife. When we had grass I tried to rest some paddocks from the sheep but the roos stripped them bare."

His Autumnvale property once was lush. In 2010, a flood submerged just about everything but the ground responded later with knee-high grass.

"It will be that way again one day and I guess everyday that it's dry we are one day closer to that downpour."

Around Cunnamulla, the flat plains are completely featureless, no hills, gullys or grass.

Sheep farmer Evan Palmer said "there's nothing left to burn on the ground, all we can hope for though is the spring heat generates some thunderstorms".

The farm has been in his family for 130 years.

"We've been in drought before but for the first time in living memory the Warrego River, that snakes through his fence lines, has stopped running. It's now an occasional series of waterholes.

"We've got artesian water we drink and share with the sheep but you cannot irrigate with it."

He once had 10,000 sheep producing 500 bales of high quality Merino wool a year. His herd is now down to 1000 and they were lucky to get 50 bales out of this year's shearing season.

The stock he has left are his breeders, the most valuable.

When it does rain they'll be in high demand and will be needed to rebuild. His wife Belinda told me "we're just not sure we can make it to that point".

Every day she's up with Evan shovelling food from the ute into feed troughs.

Grain prices have soared and even cotton seed that was once an emergency fall back feed has jumped form $280 a tonne delivered in March to over $650 straight from the gin, it then costs thousands of dollars to have it delivered.

In desperation they're experimenting with alternatives. Almond nut husks are palatable for the sheep and at this stage still cheap.

Evan just has to drive his truck 12 hours away to the processing plant and then back to make it financially viable.

"I worry about him doing these long hours and the strain he's under but we love our animals and we will do anything to make sure they don’t go without," Belinda said.

Evan says he's motivated to keep doing whatever it takes.

"I can't see them dying of starvation, I won't allow that to happen. I'm trying to keep them in good health."

This weekend they've organised 50 tonnes of potatoes as an alternative food.

"The grower in Ballarat can't sell them because they've been graded unsuitable for the supermarkets so we’ll see how the sheep like them. I think I will have to smash them up a bit so they don’t try and swallow them whole."

They're a proud couple and you can see they are straining to hold back tears when I ask them how they've managed to maintain hope.

"This property has been in Evan's family for a long time and we want to keep it going for our kids. I do hope it rains but if we can last the distance I don’t know," Belinda said.

Evan puts his arm around his wife. He's a man uncomfortable with public displays of affection but this drought has broken every rule.

"You've got to have a love of the land. There's been a lot of sleepless nights but I know what this land can look like and what it can produce.

"Last Christmas we were hand-feeding sheep, we never thought we would still be doing it, but the forecasts look like we’ll be at it again this year.

"It will be a very quiet Christmas. It would be nice for the animals to have some nice green."

Belinda contemplates a festive season with rain providing gifts for their animals, there's not a priority for themselves or their children.

Condamine cattle breeder Lee McNicholl knows the stress can become almost unbearable and not everyone came back from "the last drought in 2007".

"People do have their limits and I found mine."

The 72-year-old had a career, not only working his own farm, but as a vet.

He remembers the depression hit him like a hammer. His mates found him in his ute unable to move and visibly distraught.

With counselling and support from family he's well again and concentrating on just his farm.

He credits his return to strong mental health with re-immersing himself in sport. He plays in the seniors division of the local rugby union competition.

Condamine cods are nick-named the codgers and he's the codfather.

"I've realised that being physically fit, sharing times with good mates and competition is beneficial in so many ways," he said.

"I'm a strong advocate of people staying involved in sport, not only do you stay strong but we share things after the game in a social sense, I don't feel I'm isolated and when you stay on your property burdened by the problems and woes depression works its evil on you."

"It will take a pretty good drought to get on top of me again. I'm never going back there again."

As a signal of his positivity that good times will return, Lee is spending $10,000 dollars reshaping his water dams around the property - taking advantage of the dry to dig them deeper.

He wants to capture every bit of runoff possible, each one will be at least four metres deep. Not only to hold a huge amount but reduce evaporation "that should give us two years of water supply".

The drought has knocked around every element of the farming community.

In Thargomindah, 900 kilometres west of Brisbane, the small business owners in town say their takings are down 50 percent because farmers don’t have too much cash to buy anything.

Donna Humphries owns the local supermarket, it's a Foodworks with fresh vegetables, fruit, bread and the usual shelves of necessities.

"We have staff we are paying here that if they weren't family we wouldn’t be employing. That is the bottom line."

The town is hoping the inquisitive nature of Australians will help them through the rough. Mayor John Ferguson is encouraging grey nomads and families who want to see the real impacts of the drought to come and see for themselves.

Aroad trip with meaning "every dollar they spend here whether its a meal, fuel, cup of coffee, accommodation will end up circulating through the town about three times."

Mayor Ferguson has the nickname "tractor" and he's worried the drought is going to pull the town apart.

"Population shift is damaging, if we keep losing families that means the school might lose a teacher, the police service will scale back the number of officers stationed in the area and medical services will be affected.

"Tourists can help us as a community stay intact. It's more effective in many ways than donating cash.

"We appreciate every cent people have generously put forward but some of the well-meaning gestures can hurt.

"If a charity brings in a load of grocery hampers, that's food the local store doesn't sell. If a hairdresser comes out for a weekend with a drought relief crew, our barbers and salons don't get any revenue.

"What would be ideal is for those donations be in the form of vouchers that can be spent in the local stores or even at the local mechanic so a farmer can replace a tyre or get the family car serviced.

"We appreciate the care and sympathy but I want us to all flourish and survive not wither."

Tractor doesn't want to say it out loud but he gives that old school nod acknowledging a little bit of subtle guidance can keep a community's dignity and ensure everyone makes it through to when the rains come. He, like everyone else, doesn’t have that day circled on the calendar.

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