‘Buy a Cow’ Delivers first cattle to flood ravaged farmers

Posted on 18 March 201931 October 2023

Australians helping to rebuild the cattle herd in north-west Queensland

Thanks to the generosity of ordinary Australians, rural charity Rural Aid has delivered the first load of cattle to a farming family north of Winton in North West Queensland as part of its innovative Buy A Cow campaign. 

Thirty-nine young brahman cows were trucked to the property of inaugural beneficiaries Jeff and Debbie Nichols, in what is a concerted effort to rebuild the Northern Queensland cattle herd after a catastrophic weather event in late January/February decimated cattle numbers.

After enduring eight years of drought, hundreds of thousands of cattle were lost in 10 days of monsoonal rain. Herds across rural Queensland – including that of the Nichols family – were totally devastated.

Similar to the successful Buy a Bale campaign, this initiative allows Australians to donate money which will be gifted to farmers to purchase new livestock. Each farmer that registers will receive $15,000. The charities aim is to raise a total of $7.5 million dollars which will benefit approximately 500 farmers. $250,000 has been raised in the first two weeks.

In the coming weeks Rural Aid will be making cattle deliveries in Winton, Cloncurry and the Julia Creek regions. Jeff Nichols said the injection of new livestock was a much-needed boost to the family’s farm operations, “Like
many cattle producers up this way we have been doing it tough for a long time. We are so grateful to receive this support, but there are still so many families on the land who feel like they have nobody to lean on.

“If you care about the quality and ongoing sustainability of the Australian beef industry, I encourage you to give generously so that other producers can receive the assistance they so desperately need to get back on their
feet.”

Rural Aid Chief Executive Officer Charles Alder said it is important that all Australians dig deep to support these cattle producers who are struggling financially and emotionally to recover, “The thought of having to deal with
one natural disaster after another is difficult to contemplate but that’s what these farmers are going through,” Mr Alder said.

“Many of these farmers are staring at the prospect of not having an income for two years. One hundred per cent of funds raised through Rural Aid’s Buy a Cow campaign will be allocated to purchasing new cattle. This is in addition to other grants Rural Aid is making towards bill payments, groceries and fodder assistance – we’re calling on Australia to continue their support to help farmers rebuild their livelihoods.”

To learn more about the Buy A Cow campaign or to donate to the cause visit their website: www.buyacow.com.au

New Drought Assistance Registrations Highest in Five Months

Posted on 5 March 201931 October 2023

RURAL AID SPENDS $20M SINCE SEPTEMBER 2018

5 March 2019

The number of farmers registering for drought assistance has hit the highest level in the past five months, according to Australia’s leading rural charity Rural Aid.

The spike in registrations saw a total of 638 new farmers register for assistance in February, with the majority needing fodder to feed their livestock.

This brings the total new farmer registrations for 2019 – just two months – to 1,100.

In the past six months, Rural Aid has distributed 48,000 bales of hay to more than 2,500 farmers and has disbursed more than $20 million for fodder, mental health counselling and financial assistance.

Rural Aid CEO Charles Alder said the number of new registrations in February 2019 was a clear indication that the drought continued to take its toll.

“The number of new farmers needing fodder is a signal to all involved in supporting the agricultural sector that we cannot afford to be complacent,” Mr Alder said.

“I, like many other Australians, are particularly concerned that if we don’t get the Autumn break we need this month that there will even more pressure in an already precarious situation.

“From our perspective, our ability to source hay for farmers will reduce markedly if the rains don’t eventuate.”

STATE BY STATE JAN TO FEB 2019:
Queensland saw the highest increase in percentage terms with 176 farmers registering in February compared to 75 in January. (961 have registered in the past six months)

NSW continues to have the highest numbers of any state with 357 new registrations in February compared to 305 in January. (4,845 have registered in the past six months)

Victoria had 70 new registrations in February, up from 41 in January. (236 have registered in the past six months)

SA grew from 32 new registration in January to 35 in February. (208 have registered in the past six months)

For more information on Rural Aid’s upcoming projects including the new Buy A Cow initiative to support flood affected farmers in North West Queensland visit www.buyacow.com.au

Flood-hit farmers now hoping for more rain as recovery continues

Posted on 4 March 201931 October 2023

Queensland farmers devastated after massive flooding hit northern parts of the state last month now find themselves in the bizarre position of wishing for more rain.

Much of the flooded areas were drought declared before the floods, and despite the deluge went right back to that state after the water receded.

Heidi Smith lives with her husband and four children on Iffley Station, a cattle station between Normanton and Julia Creek.

She said there had been a significant impact on the landscape from the flooding.Advertisement

“There’s a lot of erosion and a lot of sand. Once (the water) has been up for two or three days it actually starts to move a lot of sand around,” Ms Smith said.

“It’s literally like a beach. It’s thick, a couple of feet. We’ve got to move it, and then vehicles get bogged in it.”

Ms Smith said as a result of the erosion, a lot of the topsoil had been stripped from paddocks, meaning native grasses would take a long time to regrow.

That means despite recently getting too much water, the Smiths – along with most of their neighbours – will be spending the next few weeks hoping for rain.

“We will have a very tough season if we don’t get a couple more inches to wash everything off,” she said.

“Because feed in our experience after a flood, it doesn’t really come back. It tends to just lie there and it needs the extra rain to bring it back in.”

“Ideally we’d love some more rain. We’ve had some fodder drops but it won’t last all year so we need some rain now.”

Iffley Station was more fortunate than many of its neighbours thanks to large elevated sections where the bulk of its 30,000 cattle survived the event.

Many surrounding properties and others across the region were not so lucky, with half-a-million cattle believed to have died in the disaster from drowning, freezing or starvation.

Some properties lost almost their entire herds, which means simple drops of hay aren’t enough to help them.

Regional assistance group Rural Aid launched the Buy a Cow campaign, urging people to donate specifically towards restocking cattle stations.

Rural Aid chief executive Charles Alder said they had previously been running a “Buy a Bale” campaign to fund hay drops but that was no longer enough.

“We’ve got a target of $7.5 million,” Mr Alder said.

“It’s also the flow-on effect to the local communities. Every one of these farmers spend money in town. The trucking companies truck cattle in and out. The local servos sell diesel. The shops sell groceries and these farmers have no cash flow.”

Rural Aid has a list of registered affected farmers and every time $15,000 builds up it is donated to the next farmer on the list to help them with the coast of restocking.

It comes on top of state and federal disaster assistance payments, as well as a new agency set up by the federal government on Friday to help manage the response to the disaster.

The North Queensland Livestock Recovery Agency will develop medium- and long-term plans to rebuild the sector and help to manage restocking efforts.

Farmers will be able to access up to $2 billion in low-cost loans, as well as access further seed money to rebuild their herds.

Heidi Smith said she was grateful of any help they could get.

“We have these extremes (of weather) that we have absolutely no control over,” she said.

“Sometimes I think people in the city must think we’re so ungrateful, calling for rain after we’ve just had so much, but that’s what we need right now.”

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Buy A Cow for flood ravaged Qld graziers

Posted on 27 February 201931 October 2023

The floods that swept across the northwest of Queensland wiped out an estimated half-a-million head of cattle.

It was a body blow for graziers who had spent the last seven years trying to keep their stock alive through the crippling drought.

The Rural Aid charity has been helping producers through the drought with its Buy-a-Bale program, now the charity’s CEO Charles Alder is urging people to help Buy-a-Cow.

Source: 4bc.com.au

Buy A Cow campaign helps Queensland farmers after floods

Posted on 27 February 201931 October 2023

The devastating effects of the recent Queensland floods has resulted in many farmers losing their entire cattle herds but a new campaign hopes to give producers the boost needed to rebuild their livestock.

Rural Aid have launched the Buy A Cow campaign that allows every day Australians to donate money which will be given to farmers to buy a few cattle. 

The charity will allocate 100 per cent of the funds raised to the purchase of new cattle.

Many Queensland farmers lost their core breeders in the floods.

It can take up to two years to generate an income and it can take years to  re establish cattle blood lines.

Farmers will be given up to $15,000 each to assist in their restocking in addition to other grants Rural Aid is making towards bill payments, groceries and fodder assistance. 

Rural Aid, through its Buy a Bale program, sourced and delivered almost 2500 bales of emergency hay into north-west Queensland immediately after the flood waters receded and is continuing to supply additional fodder as demand requires. 

Over the last six months Rural Aid has spent over $13 million supporting farmers in drought affected areas with fodder drops, water, financial assistance and mental health counselling services. 

Source: Western Magazine