A donation of $15,000 raised by the community at the Lithgow Workies’ Feed Our Farmers fundraiser held in September was donated to Rural Aid on November 25.

Rural Aid’s ‘Buy a Bale of Hay’ campaign has reached Cowell, with road trains bringing $50,000 of hay to the area on the weekend.

Rural Aid General Manager Wayne Thomson, Minister for Primary Industries and Regions Tim Whetstone, Minister for Flinders Peter Treloar and newly appointed Family and Business Scout Steve Whillas were there to meet local farmers.

The ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign used donations to purchase the hay from farmers in Lock.

Mr Thomson told those at the hay drop that $8500 of the donations came from a primary school in Nhulunbuy, Arnhem Land.

He said it was emotional to see Australians helping Australians from opposite sides of the country.

The hay drop was the fourth in South Australia since the campaign began accepting registrations from the state.

Mr Thomson said Rural Aid had committed $1 million to South Australia before Christmas, and he would be “rattling the tin” with corporate business in the state to double or even triple the figure.

Lock farmer Micheal Hancock was involved in the trucking of the hay across the Eyre Peninsula.

He said up to 20 trucks were coming in and out of Lock each week as part of the campaign.

The opportunity to sell their hay has been a blessing for many farmers in the area, with frost having a major impact on this year’s harvest.

Some have had their entire wheat crop damaged by the frost, and would not be able to afford to donate.

Selling their hay to help drought-affected farmers 100 kilometres down the road has been beneficial for both areas.

“There’s people here who have pretty much been financially saved by this,” Mr Hancock said.

The hay drop gave Minister Tim Whetstone the opportunity to speak to farmers and members of the Franklin Harbour District Council.

He said he was there to remind and inform locals of the services and charities available for those in financial difficulty, and to acknowledge the hardship in the area.

He said his role was “listening to what people would like to express to me,” and mentioned water infrastructure as an area for improvement.

Council Chief Executive Officer Chris Smith expressed frustration to the Minister over the difficulty of accessing state funding.

The council is hoping to access grants to fund the Coolanie water scheme.

Minister Whetstone said the Primary Industries and Regions Department would not be funding the project, and that he had offered the department “to be a coordinator and help administer” federal funds and other grant applications.

He suggested farmers access state funding individually for on-farm water storage infrastructure.

Source: Eyre Peninsula Tribune

Rural Aid hay donation fundraising campaign ‘Buy a Bale of Hay’ has opened registrations in South Australia for drought affected farmers to receive assistance.

The national fundraising campaign leverages donations from families and businesses across the country, including those in cities with no experience of the drought.

After pressure from Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey, the campaign began delivering bales of hay to South Australian farmers over the past few weeks.

A delivery is set to reach Cowell in the next two weeks.

Rural Aid General Manager Wayne Thomson said it was important for farmers who need help feeding livestock to register with the fundraiser as soon as possible.

“Don’t be too proud to ask for help and don’t be too late,” he said.

Mr Thomson said many farmers the fundraiser had worked with in the Eastern states were in dire situations when they reached out, and should have asked as much as six months earlier.

The focus of ‘Buy a Bale of Hay’ has been mainly on New South Wales, because the state has been 100% drought declared.

Mr Thomson, who is based in Queensland, said the fundraiser used drought declarations as a “trigger” for sending help.

With SA no longer using drought declarations, assessing the situation from afar has been complicated.

A benefit of the varying conditions within South Australia is that the hay will not be travelling far.

Farmers on the Eyre Peninsula will be both donors and recipients of the ‘Buy a Bale of Hay’ program, with some of the South Australian hay so far coming from from Lock.

However Mr Thomson said the organisation was reliant on the generosity of monetary donors to cover freight costs, and encouraged the whole state to help out.

He said the movement was about connecting the city with the bush, which in other states had lead to some heartwarming stories of “Aussies helping Aussies.”

Source: Eyre Peninsula Tribune

Embracing the ‘farm’ theme, the students dressed in costumes and contributed a gold coin donation to help raise funds for Rural Aid, to purchase large rolls of hay for Australian farmers affected by drought.

The school’s Nichelle Dodd said children also donated extra money for a sausage sizzle, adding to the impressive final total.

“We are proud to announce that Cowaramup Primary School students raised $1,500 which is enough money to purchase 150 rolls of hay for our farmers in need,” she said.

“Huge thanks to Margaret River Woolworths for their donation of sausages, buns and sauce, and to Riverfresh IGA for their donation of sausages.

“These kind donations mean that 100 per cent of the money raised will go directly to the farmers.”

Source: AUGUSTA-MARGARET RIVER MAIL