Local farmers urge support for Aussie Hay Runners
WHILE the media focus has switched to other issues such as fuel prices and availability, there are still farmers struggling to feed their livestock.
WHILE the media focus has switched to other issues such as fuel prices and availability, there are still farmers struggling to feed their livestock, with Aussie Hay Runners collecting donated hay from a property in Korumburra South last Tuesday to take to drought-hit Bingara in New South Wales.
Regular Aussie Hay Runners volunteer Jake Bakker of Silvan, whose four trucks all play a part in transporting hay to farmers in need, collected 32 round bales donated by retired dairy farmer Andrew Lamers, with plans to return with his B-Double truck for 46 more round bales donated by Rhonda Brooks.
Her hay will also head to Bingara.
Jake Bakker loads donated hay from Andrew Lamers.
Rhonda stressed that the aim of getting in touch with the Sentinel-Times about the hay pickup is to highlight that there are still farmers in other areas in need of feed for their animals, and to encourage those with surplus hay to help.
“We don’t realise how good we have it down here,” Andrew said of the local conditions compared to many other parts of Australia, happy to heed Rhonda’s suggestion to join her in donating through Aussie Hay Runners.
“The Government’s not looking after farmers, so we have to stick together,” he commented.
While South Gippsland conditions are generally more favourable than elsewhere, it’s not long since local farmers had to deal with a prolonged dry period.
Rhonda experienced the stress of running low on water well into last year, with many South Gippsland and Bass Coast farmers facing low dams and struggling to find and pay for feed.
“We got really good rains at the end of September and October,” she said, which promoted the growth of lots of feed.
“I made all this hay, and I thought, it’s time I helped somebody else,” Rhonda explained.
Jake can’t quite recall how he became involved with Aussie Hay Runners.
“Being a hay contractor, I ended up having a truck on a run and the truck turned into four, and now I do quite a lot for ‘em,” he said.
He remarked that those in Bingara, 141km north of Tamworth, have been doing it tough for a long time due to prolonged drought.
“They’re quite isolated where they are, and everyone bypasses them,” he said.
Being a small-scale farmer, Rhonda is keen for her hay to go to another small farmer rather than a large conglomerate.
“We don’t do much with the big farmers; they are all family farms (we supply), there are no corporates,” Jake said.
Rhonda summed up why she got involved with Aussie Hay Runners.
“I would like to think that if I had no food, someone somewhere would help me,” Rhonda said.
“When you’re a farmer, you love your animals, and I can’t imagine what it would be like having no food or water for them.”
Aussie Hay Runners, which is a project of Traralgon Lions Club, was established by Carlisle River farmer Linda Widdup.
She highlighted the fact that it has been a great hay season in Victoria, and even those impacted by recent bushfires tend to have access to hay, but the situation is different in drought-hit parts of New South Wales.
“People are hundreds of kilometres away from getting any hay, that’s the problem,” Linda said.
“We work with Rural Assistance Authority New South Wales, which gives us a transport subsidy to enable us to get this hay out to people in these remote areas where they haven’t got the means of being able to go and get some hay, so they’re the ones we’re concentrating on at the moment.”
The subsidy works on a per kilometre basis.
While it doesn’t factor in the current price of diesel, Aussie Hay Runners will soldier on.
“These people need hay, so we’re going to take it regardless,” Linda said.
Along with trucks, Aussie Hay Runners has established the Aussie Ute Crew, which joins them on hay runs.
Dunedoo farmers in strife due to severe water and feed shortages sparked Linda to establish Aussie Hay Runners six years ago.
The organisation now has charity status and can issue tax receipts.
Those wishing to donate hay, contribute in other ways or learn more can contact Linda Widdup on 0421 972 332, with Aussie Hay Runners also having a Facebook page.
