A CHARITY dedicated to helping rural Australia has knocked on the door of a dairy farming family in Rochester.

The family of four, who wish to remain anonymous, have ridden the extreme lows of the dairy industry over the last few years and were gobsmacked to be on the receiving end of a Farm Rescue by the charity Rural Aid.

The rescue entailed converting an old shed on their property into a much needed bedroom for their teenage son, who is currently sharing with his little brother.

The family is squeezed together in a tiny two bedroom home, bursting at the seams.

“I just cried and cried when they rang,’’ one of the parents said. ‘‘It is an extremely hard thing to accept help but it means the world to us to have an extension to our home — we would never have been able to afford to do this. We can now have visitors come and stay and my son will finally get some privacy.

“The kindness is overwhelming and it hasn’t really sunk in yet. Our life has been changed by all these great people and even though it might seem like a small thing to others it has been massive for us and we are so grateful.’’

Charles Alder is the man behind Rural Aid, which was established in 2015.

He has travelled the countryside supporting rural Australia through gifts of hay, on-farm renovations, community events, educational programs and hampers and gift cards.

He started the charity after reading an article in the paper about farmers having to shoot their stock because they couldn’t feed them.

“I like to help people. There is no material gain for me personally, it’s just long hours and changing someone’s life for the better. It is infectious and it is nice to see a kinder society changing people’s lives.”

When it comes to on-farm renovations, Rural Aid enlists the help of volunteers and local business to get the job done.

“Anyone can help when it comes to renovating. We have a lot of travellers and grey nomads support us. They have great skills and we put together a program to look after them in exchange for their time and intelligence.

“Being a volunteer is a hassle-free way to see Australia and the only cost for volunteers is to get themselves to the destination,” Charles said.

Rural Aid buys local as much as possible to support the local business community as well.

Charles said the job at Rochester was made possible by the support of local businesses including Rochester Mitre 10, Carpet Court Echuca, Norlec electrical and Windowtech.

Neil and Allison Elliot from Melbourne have been long-term volunteers, but this is the first time they have helped Rural Aid.

“We wanted to give it a go to see if we fit in with this process and then we will keep doing it. I am a general handyman from a corporate background and I am happy to have a go at anything from a maintenance or carpentry sense,” Neil said.

Neil said he has learnt a lot about the dairy industry in the short time he has been on the farm.

“It has been very educational. Dairying is a lot more complicated than I ever thought it was.”

Jeannie Ramsay is also volunteering.

“It’s been fantastic. I have made some new friends — I am buggered but it has been great. I can’t quite describe the experience but I would do it again in a heartbeat — we are lucky to be in a position to help others,” Jeannie said.

Rural Aid is always on the lookout for volunteers or donations.

IT’S not often that a group of farmers meet to talk about their struggles but that’s what happened at family-owned property “Bullarer”, 54 kilometres outside of Scone.

Farmers here, like the rest of the Upper Hunter, have been hit hard by the recent drought and it’s hoped that a donation of $200,000 from mining company Glencore to Rural Aid’s Buy A Bale campaign will provide some relief and encourage other companies to step in and do the same. 

About 40 farmers and their families gathered with representatives of Glencore, Rural Aid and Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen to talk about the assistance that is out there and thank Glencore for their contribution.

Operations manager at Glencore’s Mangoola Open Cut mine Tony Israel says the company opened their pockets following a conversation with Mr Johnsen earlier in the month about what could be done to help drought-stricken local farmers.

“My chief operating officer, Ian Cribb, contacted our local member, who then contacted the Buy A Bale campaign and that’s where it started,” he said.

“From then it was elevated through to Glencore’s global head of coal, Peter Freyberg, who wholeheartedly supported it and provided a $200,000 donation.

From then it was elevated through to Glencore’s Global Head of Coal, Peter Freyberg, who wholeheartedly supported it and provided a $200,000 donation.

“We are all doing it tough – 80 per cent of Glencore’s land is under agriculture.

“I’m really proud to be here today to be part of this program.”

 ASSISTANCE: Offloading of donated hay at 1260 acre cattle property “Bullarer” at Stewarts Brook in the Upper Hunter.

James and Karen Carter are fourth generation farmers and have run the 1260-acre cattle property “Bullarer” at Stewarts Brook for 28 years.

Mr Carter says Glencore’s donation has brought the local farming community together – something that hasn’t happened in a long time. 

“It’s also given us a little bit of hope,” he said.

“Before this we weren’t getting anything and we couldn’t find any help anywhere. 

“And, before we found out about Buy A Bale, we didn’t think there was any help out there.

“It means we can keep our core breeding herds for a little bit longer.”

“It’s given us that little bit of hope to keep carrying on and it means we can keep our core breeding herds for a little bit longer”.

 James Carter – “Bullarer”

Rural Aid’s Tracy Alder said the impact the charity is having on farmers was “overwhelming”.

“It’s also gratifying because we know we are making a difference and we will be able to continue making a difference with that big injection of funds from Glencore,” she said.

“So we will be here in the Upper Hunter for a while to come yet.”

Mr Johnsen welcomed the contribution and reminded the farming community that they need to talk to each other but also put up their hand if they need assistance.

“There is assistance out there, but we don’t know what we don’t know,” he said.

“I’m very thankful for Glencore for making this donation and the emotional impact it has in particular in lifting the spirits of farmers is enormous.”

Mr Johnsen said following the NSW Government’s announcement this month of a new Drought Transport Fund to provide a $20,000 low interest loans to help with transport and water costs, there has been over 200 loans granted.

“In the Upper Hunter about three weeks ago there were nine new applications in one week and one of the things we are trying to do is ease the application process so that it isn’t too hard,” he said.

Australian country music is older than you think, but some things haven’t changed. From its origins in the folk songs sung from the 1780s to the 1920s, around themes of Australian folklore,
(think bush ranging, loneliness and isolation, endurance, drought, floods, droving and shearing) many themes endure today.

Rising Talent, in it’s infancy, has managed to discover eight country artists who epitomise the Aussie spirit and their stories have inspired us all.

Tracey Rains is no stranger to the world of country music. Performing at festivals, recording in studios and winning awards from her home state of South Australia, to Victoria and New South Wales, this highly acclaimed singer, songwriter hasn’t performed since she lost her (little) brother, Nathaniel O’Brien last year. A rising talent himself, Tracey recalls the moment when they were told he was gone, it was November 8.

“We had just finished singing together at the Burra country music festival, he had another gig he had to travel to so we said our “love you’s” and “see you tonight, have a great gig”……… eight minutes later down the Barrier highway his car hit a tree, he was 19. The news was broken to us all (Mum, Dad and myself) by the police at the festival in front of around 250 people.”

When Tracey saw the competition prize was a trip to Nashville, she had to be apart of it. “My brother and I had dreams of going to Nashville , in fact we were hoping we could in 2017 when he
would have been 21.” Tracey joins seven other finalists in Brisbane, who each have their own story and dreams of making it to Nashville.

Leisa Bye is from Brisbane and has perfected the art of yodelling and is an enthusiastic advocate of Rural Aid’s work, due to her own family experience on the land.

Ali Sacipovic is a Country Music Singer from Boulia, a small country town 400km north of Winton and 300km south west of Mount Isa, Qld. His traditional style has been cultivated through his rural experiences in isolated locations.

Phoebe Jay is an inspiring young lady, whose passion for our farmers created a song, 14 Cents at the gate, tells the story of our dairy farmers financial hardship. Born in Townsville the 14 year old now calls Bundaberg home.

Lilana Crane (Lili to her friends) has been playing guitar since she was nine years old. Now at fifteen, Lili hopes Rising Talent, is her opportunity to “make it big in the music industry” and fulfil her dream of going to Nashville.

Finnian Johnson experienced his first public performance when busking last year before he moved on to paid gigs in hospitality venues around the Hunter Valley. He hopes to make music a career.

Scott Douglas arrived in Australia from America with his own country music flare. For eight years he’s lived on the Gold Coast, performing on the festival circuit and playing with bands. Acclaimed as “one of 2016’s most promising up and coming male country artists”, Rising Talent could be the break he’s looking for.

Qld based charity Rural Aid was created to make a difference to our farming families last year, following the success of Buy a Bale, the charity changing lives donating hay. Charles Alder could never have imagined in just three years, how rewarding supporting rural communities would be. To date 3.5 million has been raised and volunteers help with everything from trade work to hay
bale delivery. But it’s stories like that of farmer Kent Morris from Mitchell, Qld that have motivated him. “While Buy a Bale has successfully become a household name, there are much greater issues in rural Australia than just feed for animals. Mental health, education, services, access to internet and many others. Rural Aid’s focus is on the bush and it dovetails with our overall ambition to develop and support the bush.”

Now he says it’s time to reveal the raw talent of rural youth. “We looked at how many music comps there were for country music artists in Brisbane and found none. So as a way of raising awareness and providing an opportunity, we thought, why not create a platform to discover raw talent. It compliments the theme of the Brisbane race day fundraiser for Buy a Bale on Sept 10.”
The event will become an annual one, bringing the outback to the city, connecting the land and it’s people to those who rely on the food they produce, through music.
A number of Country Music stars have also signed on including, Tanya Kernaghan, Mark and Jay O’Shea, and of course Brad Butcher. The flights to Nashville have been generously donated thanks to Brisbane Racing Club and accomodation from Courtyard by Marriott.

Media are invited to attend the Rising Talent final to be held at Doomben Race Track on Saturday September 10 from 1130.

Complete profiles, including video is accessible by clicking on this link.

MEDIA CONTACTS – Kim Kleidon, Communications Consultant 0417 882 091
Charles Alder CEO Buy a Bale/Rural Aid – 0410 714 379