News Archives - Page 8 of 63

Emergency drinking water requests from Australian farmers up 250%

Posted on 21 August 20239 October 2023

Australia’s most trusted rural charity has experienced a drastic increase in the number of drinking water requests from Australian farmers.

Rural Aid has been delivering water tank refills to registered primary producing families for a number of years.

In the past year, drinking water requests have increased by 250%.

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said dry times have hit early and hit hard.

“Farmers around the country have been unsettled by how quickly the rain ‘tap’ has been turned off,” Mr Warlters said.

“In June last year, Rural Aid received 6 requests for a water tank refill. In June this year, Rural Aid received 21 requests for a water tank refill.”

“It’s a huge increase and shows that the pain of low rainfall is already being felt in the bush.”

“Rural Aid believes no Australian farmer should live without access to clean drinking water,” Mr Warlters said.

In addition to paying for water carters to deliver fresh drinking water to farmers, Rural Aid also runs a tank delivery program.

In the past year alone, Rural Aid has delivered 163 water tanks to primary producing households across Australia.

 Victorian dairy farmer Mark Laity said the water tank he received from Rural Aid was a huge boost.

In the past five years, he’s faced severe drought, life-threatening bushfires and floods on his East Gippsland property.

Mark and his family ran out of drinking water in the drought.

“There was no water left here at all, not even a drop in any of the dams, they were all bone dry. The creek stopped running; the whole lot,” Mark said.

He thanked Rural Aid for his tank, which provided much needed water security.

“You didn’t realise how much you relied on it [water] and how much you actually did go through.”

As the annual World Water Week (20-24 August) takes place, Rural Aid is asking for the public’s help to top up the tanks.

“It’s our aim to deliver 500 full water tanks to Australian farmers and rural communities before 2025 to equip them for survival during future disaster events,” Mr Warlters said.

“Rural Aid is calling for Water Heroes in these dry times,” Mr Warlters finished.

For more information on Rural Aid’s Water Hero campaign, visit https://waterhero.ruralaid.org.au/

About Rural Aid
Rural Aid is Australia’s most trusted rural charity. We stand with our farmers when they need us most. Rural Aid provides critical support to farmers affected by natural disaster through financial, wellbeing and fodder assistance. Rural Aid’s community programs help create more sustainable communities by building stronger futures for all Australian farmers. Find out more at www.ruralaid.org.au

For more information or interviews, contact Rural Aid Media on media@ruralaid.org.au or 0447 116 757.

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Bush kids wanted for Aus-wide wellbeing program

Posted on 10 August 202310 August 2023

Rural Aid is playing a vital role in helping school children bounce back from their traumatic flood experiences.

Rural Aid’s professionally accredited counsellors are currently delivering a program, designed specifically for primary school students, across 11 Northern Rivers schools.

The Mustering Growth wellbeing program, developed in collaboration with experts at Monash University, is being rolled out in classrooms from Lismore to Grafton until September.

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said the program would then be delivered right across the country.

“Rural kids are the farmers of our future, and we recognise that many of our ‘little mates in the bush’ need some extra help and support,” Mr Warlters said.

“Last year’s floods left many children struggling with strong feelings and requiring support.

“We also understand that it’s important to build resilience in our kids ahead of these big disaster events; whether it’s a flood, drought, or bushfire. Through the Mustering Growth program, we can do both.”

Mustering Growth celebrates all that is great about growing up in the bush; strengthening kids’ innate resilience, normalising mental health experiences and decreasing stigma, increasing mental health literacy, and building strategies to cope with challenges that are unique to the experiences of rural children.

The program is fun, interactive, flexible and includes nature-based activities.  

Rural Aid’s Manager of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Myf Pitcher, said Mustering Growth was helping kids be the healthiest version of themselves by teaching them a variety of tools.

“We’ve had great feedback from schools who’ve already taken part. One facilitator reported at the program’s end: ‘Children discussed how it helped calm them down when they were feeling anxious’,” Myf said.

Mustering Growth is run by Rural Aid’s counsellors and is completely free for schools.

Primary schools across Australia are being encouraged to reach out to Rural Aid for more information on the program.

Myf can be contacted at mhwb@ruralaid.org.au

Mustering Growth is supported by a number of generous partners, including the Sony Foundation, NAB and Rural Aid’s regular donors.   

Rural Aid and Monash University understand it is the first time in Australia’s history that a targeted, rural school wellbeing program has been evaluated for its success.  

Volunteers repair flood-affected Gippsland farms

Posted on 7 August 20237 August 2023

Rural Aid volunteers have been repairing flood-affected farms in the Gippsland this week.
18 volunteers from across Australia have rolled up their sleeves to help Orbost farmers, almost one year on from the extensive floods along the Snowy River.
Many Orbost farmers are also still recovering from drought and the catastrophic bushfires.
Volunteers at Ken Heynes’ property built a fence that will keep his cattle safe in the next flood.
“It just takes a lot of time, doing it on your own. To do what we’ve done in a day would probably take me a week and a half,” the Hereford breeder said.
“It’s great, it just makes life a bit easier.”
Rural Aid Farms Coordinator Grant Miskimmin said the week has been rewarding for both farmers, volunteers and the wider community.
“We’ve been able to help farmers with jobs like repairing fences and planting trees, which has provided a huge boost to the farm’s operations,” Mr Miskimmin said.
“Our volunteers are very proud of their hard work; they’ve travelled hundreds of kilometres to Orbost, pushed through a few chilly starts, and put hours and hours of hard yakka into these properties.
“And the Orbost community has really embraced our visit, which we are so grateful for. We’ve been offered the use of trailers and caravans from locals who want to lend a hand to the cause, which is just so heartening to see.”
For almost half the volunteers, the Orbost Farm Recovery Event was their first-time volunteering with Rural Aid.
“It’s our first experience and it’s been terrific,” volunteer Steve Pascoe said.
“The support we get is great; being able to turn up and everything is organised, the meals are made and the jobs are sorted and the materials and logistics are sorted, so we just turn up and do the work we’re here to do.”
East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Mark Reeves praised Rural Aid’s work as being a catch net of support for farmers.
“It’s silent, it’s quiet and very discreet, but it’s powerful when required. It’s fantastic,” Cr Reeves said.
“Those flood events were faster, quicker… than they’ve seen before,” Cr Reeves said.
The volunteers stayed at the Newmerella Showgrounds.
Local community groups catered for the volunteers’ dinners.
Rural Aid purchased tools and equipment from local Gippsland businesses.

Rural Aid helps farming families to reboot

Posted on 18 July 202318 July 2023

The “people side of drought” is front and centre for a Rural Aid-supported initiative helping farming families reboot not just their businesses, but themselves.

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said in drought, the focus was on the livestock, the property and immediate concerns, leaving the people themselves “pushed to the side”.

“The Farming Family Reboot is an initiative that we’re really proud of at Rural Aid; we feel it’s a really powerful thing to take families away from the farm for a brief period of time to get new skills, knowledge and tools.”

The Farming Family Reboot itself is not only free, the program covers accommodation and meals for participants, thanks to the support of Rural Aid, the University of New England, and the SQNNSW Innovation Hub through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

The Future Drought Fund showcased the Farming Family Reboot at this year’s Science to Practice Forum, producing a video with participants from across Queensland and New South Wales including the Thompson, Dwyer, Walterfang and Weller families highlighting their experiences.

Steve and Fran Thompson, of Dalveen in Queensland, took part in the first ever Reboot in Armidale.
“I’m not into going away to courses traditionally … (and) I thought the program was fantastic. It’s just not about farming, it’s about the whole lifestyle,” Steve said.

Armidale Node Manager Lu Hogan, based at the University of New England, said that when planning their activities under the SQNNSW Innovation Hub, they wanted to make sure they met the needs of farmers.
“What we found was that there was plenty of technical information about drought management and infrastructure, but what was really missing was that big picture overview about what’s the strategy for the business and improving their ability to plan and to think about the finances and to also look after themselves.”

2023 participants Rhianne and Jeff Dwyer, Glen Innes NSW, said the latest drought was hard on all farming families, with many selling their businesses and leaving farming.

“We obviously don’t want to do that,” Rhianne said. “We want to have it forever and have it for our kids.”

“You can never stop learning,” Jeff said. “There are different ways of doing things now. We can’t change the weather, but we can do other things to help. We can go home and maybe try different things or prepare better, for it if it does come dry again.”

Grant Walterfang, from Springdale in Queensland, said the renewed enthusiasm he got from the course had made a huge difference.

“Everybody got something out of it, even though there were people there that ran goats, people ran sheep, people ran cattle, people in different areas,” Grant said.

He said everyone had faced the same issues in the last drought, and they came through it still going, and looking for answers.

“The presenters from UNE and other SQNNSW Innovation Hub partners, I believe they really nailed it. Everything they taught us and showed us, they backed up with their own resources and their own experiments they’d done in the paddocks.”

Karen and Peter Weller, from the Winton district of NSW, attended to kick start their succession planning effort.

“What I found at the program, which was so different to other programs, was the mental health component,” Karen said.

“There was a lot more positivity and a lot more explanation, and I took so much more away.”
John Warlters said the beauty of the program was that it wasn’t anchored to any one location.
“It can be picked up and taken right around the country.”

In fact, the next Farming Family Reboot will be held at the SQNNSW Innovation Hub Lismore Node, in November 2023. Expressions of interest can be emailed to lhogan22@une.edu.au

The Farming Family Reboot program covers: the way decisions are made on the farm; understanding and using critical decision points and weather forecasts in the livestock and cropping cycle to better manage climate challenges; available tools such as Ag360.com.au; matching stocking rate to feed supply; critical evaluation of the finances; considering investment in new infrastructure to better manage drought and other climate challenges; relationships within the family and making better decisions as a family; and research and development at UNE SMART Farms.

Rural Aid: volunteers needed in Gippsland

Posted on 13 July 202313 July 2023

Rural Aid is appealing to Victorians to roll up their sleeves for a week of farm work.

The charity is planning a Farm Recovery Event in Orbost from 30 July to 5 August 2023. But a lack of volunteers is threatening the event’s likelihood.

Rural Aid Farms Coordinator Grant Miskimmin has urged more people to sign up, promising that Farm Recovery Events are hugely rewarding.

“We’ll be helping a handful of Orbost farmers repair their properties after last year’s devastating floods,” Mr Miskimmin said.

“These farmers still have debris across their paddocks and fences they haven’t been able to rebuild.

“Right now, we don’t have enough volunteers for our usual week-long event.

“We’re asking people to donate their time to help our farmers.”

Mr Miskimmin said no prior farming experience was needed.

“We are grateful for all kind of skill sets. We need help in several areas, from the camp kitchen, to tying barbed wire and picking up debris; there is a job for everyone.”

“You’ll gain hands-on experience, learn new skills, and make treasured connections.

“It’s very rewarding to give back to our farmers; the backbone of our country,” Grant said.

Rural Aid provides all volunteers with food over the week-long event.

Volunteers typically stay in their own caravans at the Orbost Showgrounds.

Interested volunteers are urged to apply today at: https://www.ruralaid.org.au/volunteers/

For more information on Rural Aid, visit the Rural Aid website, www.ruralaid.org.au or call 1300 327 624.