Qld farmers excluded from fed help: govt

Queensland's agriculture minister wants the state's 450 dairy farmers to be offered a share of a federal assistance package extended to their struggling southern counterparts.

Dairy farmers have been hit since processing giants Murray Goulburn and Fonterra slashed payments for milk from $5.60 a kilogram to between $4.75 and $5 because of a slump in global prices.

Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce on Wednesday announced an assistance package that included loans of up to $1 million or 50 per cent of the existing commercial debt of the business over 10 years and upgrades to the Macalister irrigation system in Gippsland.

A small group of Queensland farmers rallied outside state parliament on Wednesday to show solidarity with farmers in southern states.

Queensland's Agriculture Minister Leeane Donaldson said the retrospective cuts were a shock to the dairy industry and have added to the pricing concerns of the state's dairy farmers.

"The House should note this package excludes Queensland's 450 dairy farmers," she told parliament.

"I have written to Barnaby Joyce calling on him to extend the assistance package to Queensland if dairy farmers here are impacted by the same price cuts."

Ms Donaldson also warned some of the proposals being put forward deserved to be treated with caution because they could have unintended consequences for dairy farmers.

Mr Joyce has ruled out a levy on milk and the re-regulation of the industry.