Proston Farm Rescue Trip – June 2017

Posted on 20 June 201731 October 2023

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes to get everything ready so Charles can head off to Proston with our tradies and volunteers, and we are almost there.

For this trip we have 12 volunteers signed up, with jobs spanning four different farms. Our volunteers are going to have their work cut out for them this week because the jobs are huge! There is a fencing job which will be enough to keep a few workers occupied for a few weeks. There is also whole house which needs sanding and repainting.

It’s going to be a marathon effort to get as much done as we can as there are other jobs too! There are also things like fixing cars and sheds, painting, gardening, and guttering to complete. These Farm Rescue trips can be vital for rural communities where there is a serious skill shortage. Tradies either can not be found, or are more expensive than our farmers can afford.

The trips also provide a unique opportunity to our volunteers to experience something entirely new. There is nothing quite like putting in a week of hard work on a farm. Our volunteers this time range from highly skilled, to not having any particular skills but being very passionate about getting in and helping out.

Proston is located 280km North-West of Brisbane, so it’s a fair hike for a lot of our generous volunteers. One person is driving all the way up from NSW. It’s a 10 – 15 hour drive for him, but he is ready to help our farmers.

“Hopefully all our volunteers have a great time, and want to come back again,” said Nibedita Roy, Rural Aid’s Volunteer Coordinator. It seems that with 23 people signed up for the Miles trip in July, and nearly the same number for Mitchell in August that the word is getting around. A Farm Rescue trip is a wonderful experience for a volunteer, and very necessary for our farmers.

If you want to get involved, you can sign up here.

24 Full Time Workers for Flood Affected Farmers

Posted on 15 June 201731 October 2023

Working in conjunction with the Rob Scott from Nova Skill, Rural Aid have secured 24 full time workers for Tango Trees!

Tango Trees are a local plant wholesaler, who specialise in mature trees and native grasses. Earlier in the year they were affected by the remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Debbie, and have been struggling to get back on their feet ever since.

Being in the business of assisting primary producers with flood recovery, Rural Aid naturally wanted to help. Our Personnel Co-ordinator, Nibedita Roy, was able to negotiate a partnership with Nova Skill which will help our local producers.

The 24 workers will be undertaking a Certificate 1 in Conservation and Land Management over course of their six month traineeship. The finding for this program is provided by the Queensland State Government.

If you are interested in assisting a farmer like Ed Brain from Tango Trees, we have a number of other opportunities available.

The Farm Army program allows volunteers to connect with farmers in need of assistance at times that work for you, and you can go for as short or as long trip as you like. Head to www.farmarmy.com.au to find out more.

Weekend Warriors is a program available for corporate employees who want to use their paid volunteering day on something out of the ordinary. We give the opportunity to get away from the big smoke for a weekend, and make a difference.

This initiative will go a long way in assisting Tango Trees with their flood recovery efforts.

Farm Fest Toowoomba 2017

Posted on 9 June 201731 October 2023

Over the last 3 days Charles and Tracy have been attending the CRT FarmFest 2017.

FarmFest is Queensland’s premier agricultural field day, and the opportunity to get amongst it and meet so many farmers and primary producers in one place is invaluable.

Rural Aid shared a stand with WFI Insurance, Ag Force, St Johns Ambulance and IOR Petroleum. Rural Aid Miles Area-Coordinator, Gail Courte, also made an appearance at the stand, keeping Charles and Tracy company over the week.

“Farm Fest was a great three day festival, and I would like to say a big thank you to AgForce for hosting us in their tent,” said Rural Aid Manager Tracy Alder.

The festival is a must do for rural and farming families, as over 2,500 companies attend the show with products vital to the smooth running of a farm. There are demonstrations, and entertainment, and always something to learn.

World’s Greatest Pub Fest – Maryborough 2017

Posted on 2 May 201731 October 2023

Over this past weekend a number of our team made their way over to Maryborough to celebrate the PubFest. We were very lucky this year to be named as the annual charity of the festival and around $6000 was raised for our farmers.

After setting up the stand Charles, Tracy, Nibedita, and Dan set to work spreading the word and selling some of our Rural Aid and Buy a Bale merch. Nibedita and Tracy had a competition to sticker the most people, and Nibedita even put a sticker on a police officer in attendance.

The highlight of the event for Tracy was the costume competition which she was very generously invited to judge! Along with two other judges Tracy donned the cap and gown and set off an adventure into judicial process. One of her favourite group of contestants were the ones who gave her cupcakes, a biscuit, and a novelty cheque for $100 made out to Rural Aid! A big shout out to the League of Extra Amazing Pissheads for giving us all a laugh and really supporting our farmers.

The Maryborough PubFest is an annual event for the town, celebrating classic pubs, costumes, and the country. This years event was also an attempt to reclaim the Guinness World record for most people on a pub crawl from Kansas City. Maryborough originally set the record in 2005 with 1,198 participants, but are not the current holders. It was unfortunately unsuccessful but there is always hope for next year.

We would like to extend a big thank you to the Maryborough Pub Fest Committee for inviting us to be involved in this very special event. Thanks to the generosity of the pub-crawlers about $6000 have been raised for farmers.

Hay and Essential Support coming to Fire affected Farmers

Posted on 14 February 201731 October 2023

On one side of our country it floods, on another fire wreaks havoc.

Farmers and community members in Central NSW need our urgent assistance.

This photo taken by a farmer we’re working with shows the ferosity of the fire near Coolah in NSW.

In the last 24 hrs we’ve secured an initial 600 large round bales to go to the fire affected farmers and there is more if they need it.

Stock losses, fencing, homes, sheds and more have been destroyed and the next few weeks will see the need for assistance grow.

In addition to fodder we’ve had a call out for hampers and assistance with clothing from those who have lost everything.

Like we always try to do, we’re working smart on this one and supporting the local business community and reducing transport costs.

If you can help here’s how.

Buy a Bale of Hay = Donate $20, $50, whatever, it will help us cover the cost of hay and moving it

Buy a Hamper – Purchase a $50 or $100 hamper, once off or on a monthly basis.

Buy an Emergency Support Voucher. – $50, or $100 voucher , once off or monthly.

All these vouchers and hampers will be spent within the local business communities supporting them in their time of devastation as well. Supermarkets, chemists, motels, service stations and clothing stores will all benefit from your donation.

A massive Thank You to Steve and Mark at Transforce Logistics in Dubbo who have agreed to carry a lot of the hay for us at great rates which will make our support stretch even further.