Category: News

Farmers recall power of a Christmas card during disaster

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Rural Aid’s 2024 Mates Day campaign is all about recognising the hard work of Aussie farmers, and sometimes all that takes is a Christmas card.

Not your traditional multi-generational beef farmers, Bianca Tarrant and Dave McGiveron saved up to purchase their 519-hectare beef cattle property in Baryulgil, Northern New South Wales, and were battling one of the worst droughts in Australian history, when a delivery coordinated by Rural Aid gave them a much-needed boost.

“We got a Christmas card in the mail from a group of schoolkids in the city saying how thankful they were for everything we do to produce their food,” Bianca said.

“It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re in the thick of drought and fires and everything else, to receive those messages from kids we’d never met before just blew us away. When times are tough it’s easy to think you’re alone and that no one else understands what you’re going through.

“Often people want to support farmers but they don’t know how, so it’s really important that organisations like Rural Aid are bringing awareness of farming and regional Australia to those in the city, and giving them ways to help out.”

After almost 10 years of operation, Australia’s most trusted rural charity has launched its major annual fundraiser, Mates Day, for 2024, highlighting that ‘Every plate tells a story’.

All donations from the campaign will ensure the ongoing provision of critical economic and empathetic assistance to farmers, including the Rural Aid national mental health and wellbeing program.

Rural Aid Chief Executive Officer, John Warlters, said it was an important time to celebrate Australian farmers.

“Every plate tells a story because the food on it speaks to us about the freshness, the trust and confidence we can have that the food on our plates is nutritious and healthy – it’s the world’s best,” John said.

“Rural Aid really provides farmers and their families a hand up. We don’t provide them a handout as such, but rather a hand up at a moment in time when they really need it.

“It makes a life changing difference for them and gives them the encouragement to continue to do what they do – and we’re all beneficiaries of this amazing work.”

Bianca said understanding where food comes from was one of the most impactful ways the wider public could help support farmers.

“Everything that people eat every day has come from a farm somewhere,” she said.

“From the meat to the fruit and the veggies, everything we put on our plate every night is there thanks to a lot of work behind the scenes.

“It’s pretty rewarding being a farmer, but it is very challenging to know that the whole food system relies on us at the end of the day to be able to continue to produce food.”

While recovering from losing more than 70 per cent of their farmland during 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires, Bianca and Dave decided to start selling their produce over Facebook, which led to the creation of Our Cow – a subscription service which delivers beef, pork, lamb, chicken and seafood direct to households, helping to connect local farms directly with consumers.

Dave said they now have more than 100 farmers from across Australia supplying produce to Our Cow.

“Farmers are really good at banding together. Whether it’s during droughts, floods or fires, or just battling the everyday stressors of the job, I’m proud to be part of a community of producers who have each other’s backs to get through the challenges,” Dave said.

“Our whole livelihoods depend on the weather, a lot of which is out of our control. You’re always watching the forecasts and making businesses decisions based on that. It’s like playing the stock market but with a force of nature you just can’t predict.”

Dave said Mates Day was a timely reminder for consumers to stop and think about where their food comes from.

“Sometimes it can take three years before we make an income out of one animal on our farm,” he said.

“Crop farmers will plant something in the ground and not get any money from it for another 12 months. This campaign is about just taking the time to think about the endless dedication and effort that has gone into what’s on your plate.

“There’s so much fluctuation in a farmer’s life, from natural disasters to economic pressures, so we’d love for people to dig deep and get behind Rural Aid because farmers all around Australia need all the support we can get.”

To support Rural Aid’s Mates Day Campaign or to make a donation, visit matesday.ruralaid.org.au All donations received will contribute to the important work Rural Aid is undertaking in rural and regional communities and supporting Australian farmers.

Media enquiries:

Kate Scott
0438 389 092
kate.scott@bluehillpr.com.au

Stacey Wordsworth
0438 394 371
stacey.wordsworth@bluehillpr.com.au

About Rural Aid 
Rural Aid is Australia’s most trusted rural charity. We stand with our farmers when they need us most. Rural Aid provides critical support to farmers affected by natural disaster through financial, wellbeing and fodder assistance. Rural Aid’s community programs help create more sustainable communities by building stronger futures for all Australian farmers. Find out more at www.ruralaid.org.au 

Source: Warwick Today

Australian champion netballer, Laura Geitz, urges consumers to think about the Aussie farmers behind the food on our dinner plates

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Former Australian netball captain and Commonwealth Games medallist, Laura Geitz, is trading sport shoes for farm boots, urging Australians to stop and think about where the food on their dinner plates come from, as Rural Aid launches its major annual fundraising campaign – Mates Day.

In the lead up to Mates Day celebrations on Wednesday 20 March, farmers will share the often challenging and unseen journey behind their produce before it makes its way to consumer’s dinner plates under this year’s campaign theme ‘Every plate tells a story’.

After spending what Laura describes as an ‘incredible childhood’ on her family’s 607-hectare cattle and grain property at Allora on Queensland’s Darling Downs, the retired sports star and mum of four said she was very grateful to come on board as official Ambassador for Rural Aid’s Mates Day 2024 Campaign.

“I’ve had a connection with Rural Aid in the past and love what they stand for and what they do,” Laura said.

“Supporting farmers in crisis, whether it be through droughts, floods, bushfires or anything else that happens in the world of agriculture is wonderful and wholesome work to be involved in.

“There are extremes that farmers are constantly battling with, and we speak so much about raising awareness of what our farmers do for us. And for me, this is a perfect way of raising that awareness.”

Each evening Laura, her husband Mark and their four children sit down for the family meal where they each take turns around the table to share the best thing that happened to them during the day. Laura describes it as wonderful family time, however said she recently thought about changing the format to question the story behind their food on the dinner plate.

“I was thinking the other day, wouldn’t it be amazing to actually sit down and look at your food on your plate and ask where do you think that came from? Wonder what the farmer had to go through to get that steak or sausage or broccoli on the plate,” she said.

“Let’s start having the conversation around that because none of us do that. We take it completely for granted that we can zip down to the shops, grab what we want, get home, dish it out, or we call Uber Eats, it arrives and we eat these beautiful meals, but let’s strip it back a bit.

“We really need to be asking where does that food come from? It comes from these farmers that are absolutely bending over backwards, battling with market prices, battling with the elements to actually dish that up on our plates.

“The majority of us have absolutely no concept of what they’re going through to allow us to sit down and eat a meal.”

Celebrating Australian farmers and recognising the challenges

As part of the Mates Day Campaign, Rural Aid’s Chief Executive Officer, John Warlters, said it was also an important time to celebrate Australian farmers.

“We should celebrate Australian farmers for many reasons,” John said.

“Firstly, because they’re the best in the world, secondly because they feed us and thirdly because of the amazing food and produce that comes through their energies and efforts.

“Every plate tells a story because the food on it speaks to us about the freshness, the trust and confidence we can have that the food on our plates is nutritious and healthy – it’s the world’s best.”

However, Mr Warlters said the story about what’s not on the plate also needs to be considered.

“Lettuce suddenly becomes a $12 lettuce, or we can’t get those potato chips on our plate because our potato crops have been wiped out, or the cost of a lamb chop goes up through the cost-of-living crisis,” he said.

“We then see another story told on our plate.

“But at the end of the day, food is our lifeline. It’s what nourishes us. And it’s our farmers who do that incredible work for us.”

Support Australian farmers by supporting Mates Day

With many farmers across Australia now facing impacts from multiple natural disaster events, the nature and frequency of requests for support from Rural Aid is changing rapidly.

John Warlters said the mental health issue is one of the big challenges confronting rural and regional Australia, which Rural Aid helps to provide support a range of ways.

“When we deliver fodder to families to help them feed their livestock, it’s also the mental wellbeing piece that gets addressed through that process as well. People understand that someone else cares for them and wants to make a difference,” John said.

“When it becomes a more acute conversation, we’re also there to play that role to have an ongoing relationship with people to help them through their challenges. And where we can’t provide the support that people need, we have some clearly defined referral paths to connect them with another organisation that might have a greater skill set in that particular area.”

Growing up on the farm at Allora, Laura is acutely aware of the challenges farmers face every day and recognises the lifeline Rural Aid offers to farmers and rural communities wasn’t always there.

“Rural Aid is just about helping the farmer, and that’s what I love most about them – they’re there for a farmer when they need them,” she said.

“I feel like there’s an opportunity to put your hand up and say we need some help, and they’re more than happy to be there to help, whether that’s through drought, bushfires, flooding or just having someone to talk to.

“Rural Aid’s Mates Day is a great opportunity to support Aussie farmers and to stop and realise exactly what they do for us.

“If you’ve got ties to agriculture, that’s great. But if you don’t, I think it’s just this opportunity to be able to donate and help our mates in the bush and thank them for what they do for us.

“Because they do something for us every single day by putting food on the table.”

To support Rural Aid’s Mates Day Campaign or to make a donation, visit matesday.ruralaid.org.au All donations received will contribute to the important work Rural Aid is undertaking in rural and regional communities and supporting Australian farmers.

Media enquiries:

Kate Scott
0438 389 092
kate.scott@bluehillpr.com.au

Stacey Wordsworth
0438 394 371
stacey.wordsworth@bluehillpr.com.au

About Rural Aid 
Rural Aid is Australia’s most trusted rural charity. We stand with our farmers when they need us most. Rural Aid provides critical support to farmers affected by natural disaster through financial, wellbeing and fodder assistance. Rural Aid’s community programs help create more sustainable communities by building stronger futures for all Australian farmers. Find out more at www.ruralaid.org.au 

Sources:
The Land
Farming Ahead
Queensland Country Life

Fruit growers needed to match backpacker inquiries

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Australia’s most trusted rural charity is appealing for fruit growers to join its Farm Army job posting platform.  

Rural Aid’s ‘Farm Army’ website is a job posting platform for farmers. Paid or unpaid jobs are advertised to a volunteer, worker and grey nomad database of more than 10,000 people.  

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said there are thousands of job seekers using the site to look for seasonal work.  

“We’ve seen a real influx of backpackers using Farm Army in the past few weeks,” Mr Warlters said.  

“But we need more picking jobs on the site to meet the demand. 

“We encourage all farmers to list their jobs on Farm Army, but especially those who use the invaluable workforce that is seasonal workers,” Mr Warlters said.  

Mr Warlters said the current ratio of jobs to applicants sits at roughly 1:10. 

“We see the highest success rates from job listings that are detailed, contain photos, and have information on lodgings,” Mr Warlters said.  

“As the job-poster, farmers have full control over who is selected for the position they have advertised. 

“One orange grower in the NSW’s Riverina region has used the Farm Army platform to find harvest workers for the past two years, and has had more than 190 applications for their roles.” 

“We know how hard it can be for primary producers to find workers, so we are trying to fill that gap with Farm Army,” Mr Warlters said.  

The Farm Army website can be found at https://www.farmarmy.com.au/  

Rural Aid can assist farmers with limited internet or technology skills to use the site. Contact 1300 327 624 to find out more about this service.  

Please note: Rural Aid has no involvement in the job description or selection beyond providing a platform for a job to be advertised.   

About Rural Aid 
Rural Aid is Australia’s most trusted rural charity. We stand with our farmers when they need us most. Rural Aid provides critical support to farmers affected by natural disaster through financial, wellbeing and fodder assistance. Rural Aid’s community programs help create more sustainable communities by building stronger futures for all Australian farmers. Find out more at www.ruralaid.org.au 

For more information or interviews, contact Rural Aid media on  
or 0447 116 757. 

Rural Aid brings Eugowra community together, one year on from floods

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Australia’s most trusted rural charity has provided a night of joy for the flood affected Eugowra community, one year on from the catastrophic flooding event that swept the town. 
 
Rural Aid last Friday hosted a free community BBQ at the Eugowra Showgrounds, attended by more than 150 locals.
 
Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said the small central west town was still in the grips of disaster recovery. 
 
“Understandably, the deadly flash flood is still having a huge impact on Eugowra and its surrounds,” Mr Warlters said. 
 
“Tragically, two Eugowra locals died in the flood. Approximately one third of the town’s population had to be airlifted from their roofs.”
 
“Now, these brave locals are determined to rebuild their homes, their farms, their roads, their fences.”
 
“It was Rural Aid’s honour to host a community BBQ to give this hard-working region a ‘night-off’,” Mr Warlters said. 
 
Local musicians provided entertainment and a dozen support agencies provided face-to-face assistance. 
 
“Rural Aid has been helping central west farmers long before last year’s flood, and we’ll continue to be here for them long after,” Mr Warlters said. 
 
“Through hay drops, financial assistance, wellbeing counselling, volunteer expeditions, water deliveries, and community events, Rural Aid has proudly stood with central west farmers when they’ve need us the most.”
 
Rural Aid’s efforts in the ongoing recovery of the region have been boosted by generous business partners. 
 
Newmont Cadia is a proud supporter of Rural Aid, and in turn farming families and communities.
 
Cadia General Manager, Tom Lukeman, said Newmont was proud to be the funder of two fodder drops in the region, the first at Merriwa and the second at Tullamore.
 
“The communities where we live, work and play mean everything to us, which is why we have been focused on supporting the local community to help fast-track its recovery. 
 
“As well as assisting with the initial response, teams from our workforce have helped with community projects at Eugowra, Cudal and Molong this year.  This has included repainting the Cenotaph in Eugowra and most recently, a garden and nature space project at Eugowra Public School,” Tom said. 
 
To register with Rural Aid, or to make a donation, visit: https://buyabale2023.ruralaid.org.au/

About Rural Aid 
Rural Aid is Australia’s most trusted rural charity. We stand with our farmers when they need us most. Rural Aid provides critical support to farmers affected by natural disaster through financial, wellbeing and fodder assistance. Rural Aid’s community programs help create more sustainable communities by building stronger futures for all Australian farmers. Find out more at www.ruralaid.org.au 

Media Contacts 
For more information or interviews, contact:

Flooded farmers receive new water tanks, installed by volunteer tradies

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Ten central west farmers have received a new household water tank, installed by volunteer tradies, thanks to a Rural Aid and Reece Foundation partnership.  

Tank recipient and Eugowra farmer Matt Parker is still recovering from the catastrophic November 2022 flood.  

“We lost all our cereal crops… it was a huge expense and a huge loss of income. 

“We lost quite a number of sheep in the floodwater. It just seemed to be one thing after another for a while there,” he said.  

Matt was one of ten central west New South Wales farmers to receive a new 22,000 litre tank for his household water use.  

“It’s much appreciated. It was something on our to-do list before the flood but financially we just haven’t been able to do it,” Matt said. 

The tanks were installed by qualified plumbers volunteering with the Reece Foundation.  

Plumber James Woolford donated his time, expertise, equipment, and employees to the project.  

“It’s come at a busy time of the year too, but it’s just what you do,” he said.  

Plumber Mick Spencer visited Eugowra to support the community in the days immediately following the flooding events and returned recently for a second time to volunteer his skills.  

“My passion for giving to a community is that if something happens in [my town], I would expect someone to come and give to our community, which is the way I look at it.” 

The Reece Parkes branch has been a staunch supporter of Rural Aid for many years.  

Branch manager Chris Cunningham connected Rural Aid with the Reece Foundation, and provided free materials for the project, after seeing his region still grappling with flood recovery.  

“There were a lot of families, lot of people, affected,” Chris said.  

“The past 12 months have been a bit of a process.” 

Brian Morton, Rural Aid’s Operations Manager, said it was great to be able to offer an installed tank to the region’s farmers.  

“We’ve worked in this region for a while now over the past 12 months, and [now] working with Reece, we’ve come back as part of the disaster-recovery process.” 

The tanks will also help farmers as they prepare for, and recover from, drought.  

Robert and Linda Ireland received a new tank, which has boosted their spirits as El Niño looms.  

“Through that [2019] drought, and possibly coming up again this year, you go ages without rain and you run out of water,” Linda said. 

“The tank would just go down and down and down and you can’t even be guaranteed to have a shower every day.” 

“You just forget how precious water is,” she said.  

To register with Rural Aid, or to make a donation, visit: https://buyabale2023.ruralaid.org.au/  

The Reece Foundation works with volunteer tradies and partners to fund and initiate projects that provide clean water and sanitation to communities at home and abroad. 

To find out how you can get involved, visit: https://www.reecefoundation.charity/ 

About Rural Aid 
Rural Aid is Australia’s most trusted rural charity. We stand with our farmers when they need us most. Rural Aid provides critical support to farmers affected by natural disaster through financial, wellbeing and fodder assistance. Rural Aid’s community programs help create more sustainable communities by building stronger futures for all Australian farmers. Find out more at www.ruralaid.org.au 

About Reece Foundation 
Launched by Reece in March 2022, the Reece Foundation, is a registered independent charity that unlocks the power of trade skills to improve access to clean water and sanitation in the communities that need it most in Australia and overseas. The Reece Foundation was created to support the trade to be able to ‘do good’, using their skills and knowledge to deliver practical water solutions where it can have the greatest impact. ​By taking a community-led approach and harnessing the essential skills of the trade, the Foundation aims to improve the health and wellbeing of the communities it supports and have a positive ripple effect on education, food security and employment outcomes through clean water.

Find out more https://www.reecefoundation.charity/

Media Contacts 
For more information or interviews, contact:

Source: 9Now