Starving cattle’s get first feed in 12 days, Farmers relieved to see help

Posted on 10 February 201931 October 2023

February 10th 2019

Hay from Rural Aid is finally reaching stations in NW Queensland with helicopters working all day to get hay to stranded cattle.

Over 160 large square and round bales have been trucked to different locations around Winton where the helicopters carried bales to small mobs of 20 or 30 too weak to walk.

160 bales will feed up to 8,000 cattle for a day and will keep them alive for days afterwards.

The Mayor of Winton, Gavin Baskett says property owners are in desperate need until the grass starts growing, “The hay from Rural Aid is very important because some of the cattle haven’t eaten for 12 days After being exposed to rain and wind, having something in their stomach for three or four days is important until the grass starts to shoot. I want to thank all Australians because it gives us hope. It was great to see how quickly it got here, landing within a day of when it was needed.”

Tahnee Oakhill is from Bernfels Station and has around 1,00 cattle. They have been greatly affected with more stock ‘down than up’. She says the hay from Rural Aid will be a huge help, “We had 22 inches of rain so can’t get onto our country and won’t be able to for a week or so. The cattle have
been starving for ten days so this hay will be a life saver for most of those.”
Nathan Mura ajists cattle on Nufarm station. He says the flood has gone through all their channels,”This hay from Rural Aid is a huge help, it will help any of the cattle still alive because after 10 days without feed it will start their rumen again so they might make it through.”

Debbie and Geoff Nicols from Bendemeer station say the scenes have been heartbreaking. Around 40 cattle died at the fence surrounding their homestead. They haven’t been home because the road has been inpassable. She says the hay will help a great deal,” It will fill their stomachs, give them a bit of strength to carry through until the green feed comes through. They have nothing now so anything is a big help. The first people that turn up here are Rural Aid, you’re there standing beside us helping in
any way you can”.

In addition to these Winton hay bales, 350 bales are heading to Cloncurry today and a further 300 will be on their tomorrow, Monday.

1,500 bales are being trucked in total with another 1,000 being sourced from Collinsville in Northern QLD.

The CEO of Rural Aid, Charles Alder says the charity will keep supporting flood affected farmers until it is told to stop.

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Flooded QLD graziers face massive losses

Posted on 8 February 201931 October 2023

Drought-ravaged Queensland graziers could lose half their herds after a once-in-a-century monsoon dumped three years of rain in just ten days.

Flood waters have swamped properties from Mount Isa to Charters Towers and south to Longreach.

The deluge has killed cattle in their thousands and left entire herds isolated and facing possible starvation.

Grazier Jamie Zammit at Wyreema Downs, south of Julia Creek, says it’s too boggy to inspect his 30,000-acre station but in the paddocks he can get to he’s found stock losses at 50 per cent.

“It’s pretty shitful. I can’t see anything but rain and dead animals,” he told AAP.

“At the end of the day it’s pretty much a disaster, everyone battled through the drought then got three years of rain in 10 days.”

“This country can’t handle rain like that, there are creeks where there were never creeks and we’ve never had rain like this in a 100 years of records.”

Rural Aid chief executive Charles Alder says hundreds of farmers are facing a dire situation, with up to 300,000 head of cattle affected.

“For these farmers who’ve been battling drought for five and six years it’s just crippling,” he told AAP.

Mr Alder says it’s a race against time to get food to the surviving cattle.

He estimates the cattle industry could be facing stock losses of up to $100 million.

“It’s going to be a big issue for banks because farmers aren’t going to be able to restock very quickly and they’re going to need to have cashflow to pay their bills,” he said.

“When you’ve got stock you sell some but if you’ve lost half it becomes a very marginal operation for you.”

He said getting help to flooded communities was very difficult, given how widespread the flooding was but 1500 hay bales were already heading north to affected communities

We’re hoping to begin delivering fodder to flooded communities on Friday, he said.

Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Linda Reynolds said recovery grants of up to $25,000 would be available for primary producers in seven local government areas.

“Gut-wrenching information has come through about stock losses of 25 to 50 per cent of entire herds of cattle and groups of 300 to 400 cattle clustered along fence lines as well as dead animals in flood water flowing through and around towns,” she said.

Source: SBS News

Rural Aid program the Gift of Music is asking for donations of old instruments

Posted on 29 January 201931 October 2023

“You need more than passion to play a musical instrument, you also need a musical instrument.”

Rural Aid’s latest project The Gift of Music is breaking down that barrier for hundreds of rural and regional kids all over Australia, although they do need the public’s help according to musician and event coordinator Victoria Edwards.

“Giving a child a musical instrument is not just giving them a skill for life, it also gives them joy, gives them something to do, improves their hand eye coordination, teaches patience and discipline and helps with school studies,” she said.

“Music is just great – it is one of those rounded things that we need in society but unfortunately music and arts programs are generally the first to go from schools.”

The Gift of Music is calling on everyone to have a look around their house and donate any unused, old, and even broken instruments to the program.

Rural Aid then tries to match the instruments with either individuals or schools that have applied through their website, recently delivering 37 eukalales to the remote region of Bedourie in south west Queensland.

“How many people have old instruments that they have bought for their kids or themselves that no longer get used,” Mrs Edwards said.

“We even fix up instruments that aren’t in good shape.

“Sharing an instrument is giving it new life, and bringing music into the life of a child or a family is an amazing thing.” 

People can register instruments, or apply for an instrument, through the Rural Aid website.

Source: The Northern Daily Leader

Keith Urban and Toyota chipping in for Rural Aid at Tamworth

Posted on 24 January 201931 October 2023

Everyone from Keith Urban and Toyota right through to the music fan on the street have been pitching in for Rural Aid at festival this year, and the charity are making the most of the golden opportunity.

The charity kicked off in 2015 with the life-saving Buy a Bale campaign, and has since grown into a fully fledged support program for regional Australians, and haven’t they let them know this week.

Events coordinator Victoria Edwards has been blown away by the amount of people that have dropped into their stands to thank them.

“We never really expected it but we have had lots of farmers just drop in to thank us – it has been amazing,” she said.

“Obviously country music fans have an affinity with people in the bush, and the festival attracts people from all walks of life so it is really helping us raise that awareness.” 

While the Keith Urban concert helped fill the charities coffers, they have also been named as the charity of choice by major sponsors Toyota this year.

While that means that the organisation gets two stands on the street, they also receive the profits from an icon of the Tamworth festival, the 18,000 Toyota Hats on the street this year.

“It has been so good to have our profile raised like that,” Ms Edwards said.

“Because people are coming from everywhere that awareness will go Australia wide, niot just in Tamworth, and I really think we are starting to get that message through that large parts of Australia are in the grips of a severe drought.

“City people are starting to understand that meat, bread and milk doesn’t just come from the supermarket.” 

Council country music manager Barry Harley has more than pleased to see Rural AId named charity of choice by Toyota, and believes the very nature of the festival is also serving a greater purpose for rural communities.

“There was a little concern that the drought might impact on numbers, but what we have seen is that in some cases the festival is having a positive impact,” he said.

“Over 75 per cent of all 2800 performances are free which creates a great opportunity for a little respite or a break from the farm – that is something very unique to Tamworth.”  Ms Edwards agreed.

“A lot of those farmers we have spoken to are using the festival for a bit of relaxation,” she said.

“If they have got a bit of hay from us, or a bit of feed, and can get away for a few days that can make a lot of difference.” 

Rural Aid are also accepting unused or spare instruments for their Gift of Music program.

Source: The Northern Daily Leader

Toyota donates to Rural Aid

Posted on 23 January 201931 October 2023

The Toyota Country Music Festival will donate funds to Rural Aid in support of remote communities.

Mental health services inside Rural Aid will benefit from Australia’s largest music festival’s Raffle for Resilience, with first prize on offer being a 200 Series Toyota LandCruiser.

It’s not just any 200 series up for grabs; a custom-built top-spec LandCruiser Sahara has been designed to pay homage to the legendary FJ40 LandCruiser which started life 60 years ago.

Original FJ40 inspires.

by Toyota’s Port Melbourne product planning and development team, the 200 Series gets a vintage gold paint scheme, with customer black grille inserts and rear cowling, and black alloys, to replace the vehicle’s original chrome highlights.

Genuine roof racks, nudge bar and a 3.5t braked towing kit are also blackened on the Sahara which also retains its powerhouse 200kW and 650Nm 4.5-litre twin-turbo, diesel V8. It’s a far cry from the original petrol 3.6-litre in-line six, four-speed LandCruiser which was brought to Australia in 1958.

In addition to the LandCruiser first prize, Toyota says it is contributing over $171,000 in prizes for the raffle, including a meet-and-greet with Glenn McGrath, two tickets to the 2019 AFL Grand Final, a 2018-team signed cricket bat and an All-Australian AFL team signed Sherrin football.

Toyota Australia marketing chief Wayne Gabriel says Rural Aid plays an important part in country people’s lives.

Wayne Gabriel, Toyota Australia chief marketing officer

“With the recent severe drought affecting millions across Australia, support for charities like Rural Aid is more crucial than ever and we are proud to have been able to provide support through the Toyota Country Music Festival,” he says.

“As the vehicle that’s played a part in the lives of so many rural Australians for 60 years, creating a bespoke LandCruiser to support them made perfect sense,” Gabriel adds.

“The organisation does a fantastic job in providing a variety of support services for rural Australians across the country and we hope that the chance to own this one-off vehicle will encourage people to support this raffle,” he says.

Rural Aid chief executive Charles Alder says farmers and regional communities have relied on Toyota for generations.

“People in the bush have had it particularly hard over the past few years, and demand for our services continues to increase so it’s great that Toyota is such a committed supporter of our cause,” he says.
“Toyota has always been there for rural and regional Australians, and given the popularity of its LandCruiser models among country folk, this makes for a great prize that we are sure will encourage the broader community to buy tickets,” Alder says.
“All proceeds will be used to help grow the essential mental health services we provide for those in need,” he adds.

Source: autotalk.com.au