COMMUNITIES THAT RUN SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS

Posted on 25 August 202031 October 2023

What it takes to build strong, enterprising and sustainable towns

Residents, community leaders and program coordinators from small towns across Australia are invited to this week’s Rural Aid webinar on successful community campaigns featuring two case studies, one addressing ageism and the other attracting tourism.

Each week, Rural Aid delivers a free webinar as part of the Community Builders series, and this Thursday at 4pm AEST the focus is on two towns with under 1000 people and their community campaigns

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said the webinar is built to inspire and motivate small towns to take control of their futures.

“This week we’ll travel to Dirranbandi, a small country town famous for its cotton production, to hear about their successful Great Escape tour, created to boost the local economy and introduce city-based visitors to the local lifestyle,” Mr Warlters said.

The Great Escape Package paid holiday not only included a visit to the local show, but guests were able to see what the area is known for by visiting cotton crops, wineries and enjoying breakfast on the river. 

“Third generation local farmer Frank Deshon will be joining the program to tell the story of how it all came together.”

The second town to feature in this week’s webinar in Pingelly, in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia.

“Pingelly faced the challenge of an ageing population made up of dedicated locals who had given much to the community and were reluctant to move away into aged care facilities or closer to health centres. They wanted to stay at home and stay in their town,” Mr Warlters explained.

“The Pingelly Somerset Alliance have developed a model that allowed older residents to stay in their homes, in their towns, and get the care and support they needed, through a most innovative approach.”

Listeners will hear this story from proud local Helen Morton, the former WA Minister for Mental Health, Disability Services and Child Protection.

The free webinar series, sponsored by Bushells, was created during the early months of Covid-19 restrictions to support small towns in rural and remote Australia in developing stronger futures in the face of adversity.  

The webinars are hosted by Peter Kenyon, community change and renewal expert from The Bank of Ideas. Attendees can ask questions through the chat function of the webinar platform.

To register to be part of the Community Builders Series, visit: ruralaid.org.au/towns/webinars

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About Rural Aid

Rural Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities.

Media: 0447 116 757 | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au

Spokesperson: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters | 0409 618 641

Follow Rural Aid for updates on:

Rural Aid – FB: @ruralaidaustralia | IG: @ruralaid |IN: Rural Aid Ltd | TW: @ruralaidaust

Buy A Bale – FB: @buyabaleofhay | IG: @buyabale | TW: @buyabale

‘BEE AN ANGEL’ AND HELP RURAL AID SUPPORT AUSTRALIA’S LITTLEST LIVESTOCK

Posted on 20 August 202031 October 2023

When it comes to agricultural sustainability, honeybees impact well above their size

When our national parks are our home and we’re feeling a little displaced after the bushfires – with habitat loss and our food source gone – we need a little help.

We’re the little livestock that makes a big impact. We’re the honeybees and we’re crucial to everything  you eat, every day.

Without us, your favourites like avocados, almonds and blueberries wouldn’t be a reality. Did you know that 9 billion of us are on our way to Victoria’s almond farms to help with pollination as well as collect nectar for honey?

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said they are one of Australia’s littlest livestock and their work is essential to all levels of our food system.

“Without bees, a third of the supermarkets would be empty and your favourites at the farmers markets would be in short supply,” John Warlters said. “Through Rural Aid’s Stronger Futures program, Hive Aid is ensuring that this essential industry is safeguarded for generations to come, but we need your help.”

“Recent events including drought and bushfire impacted thousands of beehives across Australia. Thankfully, our littlest livestock Aussie farmers, yes – you may know them as beekeepers, are doing their best to get back on their feet. However, they are struggling to feed their bees and pay their bills.

“That’s why we are asking everyone to #BeeAnAngel by supporting Australia’s littlest livestock, the honeybee.”

The good news is, there are easy ways to help support our littlest livestock farmers by:

• Bee awesome, bee kind, bee an angel
• Planting some native flowers
• Donating a portion of your grocery shop to Hive Aid: www.ruralaid.org.au/hiveaid
• Creating a fundraising page: www.ruralaid.org.au/hold-a-fundraising-event/
• Schools can also get involved by either raising funds, planting flowers, or even building their own beehives.

Your support will allow Rural Aid to provide support to keep our hives alive and the industry flourishing.

To support our beekeepers and their bees, please donate at: www.ruralaid.org.au/campaigns/hiveaid/

About Rural Aid

Rural Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities.

Media: 0447 116 757 | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au

Spokesperson: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters | 0409 618 641

Follow Rural Aid for updates on:

Rural Aid – FB: @ruralaidaustralia | IG: @ruralaid |IN: Rural Aid Ltd | TW: @ruralaidaust

Buy A Bale – FB: @buyabaleofhay | IG: @buyabale | TW: @buyabale

Interesting Bee Information from Hive and Wellness Australia: hiveandwellness.com/en-au

Beekeeping Costs

• $25 buys a queen bee
• $50 two queen bees
• $150 1 x 20KG bag of Pollen supplement (one week’s worth for 40 hives)
• $200: Nuc hive (baby/starter hive)
• $500: Tank of diesel for typical commercial bee truck
• $1000 One month’s worth of supplementary sugar feed for starving hives that don’t have immediate access to nectar – this is a last resort to keep the bees alive. Honey cannot be produced off this process.

General 

• There are around 1500 commercial beekeepers in Australia who care for bees, produce honey and pollinate food crops for a living. Many of these families are feeling the impact of bushfire, drought and floods.  
• Beekeepers are now travelling 1000kms more than usual to find sufficient nutrition for their bees. 
• Without bees, fresh produce will be adversely impacted, including apples, cucumbers and other fruits, vegetables and buts. Some crops, like almonds, avocadoes and blueberries, are 100% dependent on honeybee pollination. 
• Honeybee pollination is worth $14 billion to the national economy, a vital element in dozens of associated regional industries including the billion-dollar almond industry, Australia’s largest horticultural export. 
• Many professional beekeepers are in maintenance mode, focusing on nursing their bees that are not strong enough to go into honey production or pollination services. This means beekeepers whose livelihoods depend on beekeeping are under threat and so is the fresh food aisle, with 1/3 of everything we eat needing honeybees for pollination – another service professional beekeepers offer in addition to producing pure honey from the bush. 
• Due to all of the above factors, many Australian beekeepers are down in honey production by up to 70%. Sadly, there is no short-term relief in sight due to the great swathes of floral resource lost or damaged from drought and bushfire.  
• We’ve seen rain recently, but this does not offer any resolve. Drought affected trees sometimes take 2-4 years to regenerate and trees burnt in the bushfires could take even more than that. The other issue is if we get too much rain. It can be detrimental to the trees, or it can prevent beekeepers moving bees into sites as their trucks can become easily bogged.  
• The plight of our industry is severe and unfortunately the government support currently available to beekeepers has been inconsistent across each state. What is critical right now is that professional beekeepers can get much needed support to supplement bees where nutrition from the environment is unavailable due to drought and bushfires, and that we don’t see a mass exodus from the industry. Beekeepers are the cornerstone of Aussie agriculture and we need to ensure there is enough support accessible for these hardworking, forgotten farmers. This is what sparked the need for the Hive Aid campaign to ensure professional beekeepers could access support nationally.   

NSW 

• NSW bushfires that have burnt over 9,809 hives and wiped out the field bees of over 88,094 hives  
• Burnt just over 5 million hectares of forests (this is 10 times the annual average in a regular year for NSW)   
• 67% of national parks on the eastern seaboard have been burnt, this was prime beekeeping country  
• Flooding has been a massive issue down near the Pilliga. Hives needing to be airlifted from sites or rescued with boats. One of our beekeepers lost 800 hives.  
• It is estimated that the NSW beekeeping industry contribute around $36 million annually to the state’s economy through the production of honey, bees wax and other hive products. 

QUEENSLAND  

• 90% of Crown land is currently unproductive due to fires and drought. 
• There are approximately 79,000 professional hives in Queensland with approximately 45,000 that are used for pollination (for avocados, strawberries, macadamias, etc.). But due to stress from drought and fires, there is going to be less hives at pollination this year. This will have a significant flow on effect to fresh produce in the fresh food section for grocery.  
• Honey and honey products contribute $65 million per annum to Queensland’s economy but pollination dependent crops produce $2.4 billion per annum. Queensland Government is concerned regarding the impact of drought and fires on bees and what it will have on the ability of the horticultural industry to maintain production levels and contribute to Queensland economy.  
• Many Queensland beekeepers had to move their hives to Central Victoria to support their hives.  
• 45,000 hives have required drought assistance over the last two months.  
• Drought is more an issue in Queensland than fires.  
  

PRIMARY PRODUCERS AND THE HEEBIE JEEBIES

Posted on 13 August 202031 October 2023

Rural Aid webinar series allows farming families to connect with counsellors

Rural Aid has today announced the August theme for its regular primary producer webinar where skilled counsellors present on timely topics affecting farmers and rural communities.

‘On The Couch with Rural Aid Counsellors’ is a webinar series tackling key topics and themes related to farmer welfare and life on the land.

This month, on Wednesday 19 August, Hunter Valley based counsellor Gary Bentley will host a session at 6pm AEST on anxiety. The theme of the session is “The agony of anxiety; how to cope with the heebie jeebies”.

Gary will discuss the meaning of anxiety, the causes, signs, and symptoms before relaying information on management, treatment, acceptance and survival.

This session is for primary producers, country families and rural counsellors, Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said.

“With the sheer volume of factors influencing a farmer day in day out, anxiety is not uncommon in agricultural industries and rural communities, yet little is understood about it by those populations,” Mr Warlters said.

“Gary’s session will be a two-way conversation, where attendees can privately direct questions to our highly skilled and qualified rural counsellors.”

In September, Darling Downs based counsellor Jane McCollum will host a session at 6pm on the 16th on “fixing fences” about setting personal boundaries.

In October, Central West based counsellor Zoe Cox will host a session at 6pm on the 14th on partnerships and conflict in times of stress.

“Stressful circumstances on the land can have an impact on marriages and relationships. In this session, Zoe will provide some useful tactics for language, communication, improving connection and unity,” Mr Warlters explained.

John Warlters said primary producers, farming families and rural counsellors are encouraged to register for the 60 minute live sessions at https://www.ruralaid.org.au/counselling/

END

About Rural Aid

Rural Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities.

Media: 0447 116 757 | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au

Spokesperson: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters | 0409 618 641

Follow Rural Aid for updates on:

Rural Aid – FB: @ruralaidaustralia | IG: @ruralaid |IN: Rural Aid Ltd | TW: @ruralaidaust

Buy A Bale – FB: @buyabaleofhay | IG: @buyabale | TW: @buyabale

RURAL AID IS CALLING ALL BUDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR OUR SPIRIT OF THE BUSH PHOTO COMPETITION

Posted on 11 August 202031 October 2023

Life on the land or in the bush – competition open until 3 September 2020

Rural Aid is calling all photographers for their inaugural photo competition.

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said if you are a photographer or a budding photographer and you have a love for rural Australia, then this is the competition for you.

“We want to see images, ground level or aerial, of our Aussie farmers and their families and a depiction of what their life is like on the land or in the bush,” John Warlters said.

“Australia is a large country and we have many types of farmers across this land and on our oceans. Livestock from cattle to bees, different types of grain growers, fruit and vegetables, grapes for our wine growers and seafood – farmed inland and on the ocean.

“These farmers are there supporting Australians with food on our tables and add substantially to our gross domestic product in the good times and continue to work hard during challenging times, such as drought, flood and fire.

“Our farmers have been through so much and these images will also be a great way to show how they are faring in these challenging times. Of course, we’re also looking to support photographers across Australia who are also facing challenging times.

“If you need inspiration, then check out our Facebook @ruralaidaustralia and Instagram @ruralaid social media pages, they are full of great images of rural Australia and the farmers Rural Aid supports, who support us.

“As well as giving the world a snapshot of farming life, the land and the bush in Australia, this competition is also a great way of showing off the photographic talent posting to our social media channels. The added incentive is there are also great prizes to be won.”

Prizes:

• 1st Prize will receive gift cards to the value of $500
• 2nd Prize will receive gift cards to the value of $250
• 3rd Prize will receive a Rural Aid prize pack to the value of $100
• People’s Choice Winner will receive a Rural Aid prize pack to the value of $100

Here’s how to enter:

• The competition will run from 5pm AEST, Monday 10 August to 5pm AEST, Thursday 3 September 2020.
• Entrants must submit a high-resolution image by either:
  • posting the image on Instagram with the hashtags #RAPhotoContest & #SpiritoftheBush and tagging @ruralaid in the picture or
  • emailing the submission to images@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au.

Photos will then be added to stories and a highlight reel on the Rural Aid Instagram page.

About Rural Aid

Rural Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities.

Media: 0447 116 757 | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au

Spokesperson: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters | 0409 618 641

Follow Rural Aid for updates on:

Rural Aid – FB: @ruralaidaustralia | IG: @ruralaid |IN: Rural Aid Ltd | TW: @ruralaidaust

Buy A Bale – FB: @buyabaleofhay | IG: @buyabale | TW: @buyabale