They have been growing crops at Kilterry, north of Nelia, for 63 years and say the starting price set by the government may be appropriate for southern Queensland but not for Julia Creek.

“This minimum price...is truly devastating to the pioneering communities of the north and we believe is in complete contradiction to the recommendations of the white paper and the national needs to develop the north,” family member Megan Easton said.

Even at $284/ML, Megan says it will take them 10 years to turn a profit, thanks to the cost of getting seed from Toowoomba 2000km away, servicing machinery 600km away at Townsville, and not having a market for high-value crops such as cotton.

She and her brother Bob Lord are preparing a tender to take water from the Flinders management area, which has 2000ML available.

They are mounting a case for the granting of 1000ML free of charge, saying their participation in the capping of the old Kilterry bore has cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars, while saving the Great Artesian Basin over 8000ML a year.

They had been using tailings from boredrains caught in a dam and pumped onto nearby cultivation with a rolling irrigator, but struggled to gain a license after the capping of the bore.

Temporary water permits of 500ML in 2014/15 and 250ML for 2015/16 were granted, and the family has moved ahead with plans to make their enterprise more sustainable, employing a laser leveller, building a headland to capture water from the 40m bays, and putting up a vermin-proof fence to protect the 50ha under irrigation.

“We don’t mind if we have to pay for water,”Megan said. “Water conservation is paramount to us. We have conserved in excess of 8000ML/annum over the Kilterry aggregation.

“We have also demonstrated our compliance with the GABSI scheme. We have paid greatly and reserved more water than any project.”