Taking hay to drought stricken farmers

from w
Now this is being Australian - giving people a fair go, a helping hand.

Drought sees New South Wales farmers helping one another, hay donations prove a psychological boost

By Peter Lewis, Saturday February 8, 2014 - 14:51 EDT

Drought affected graziers in the north-west of New South Wales are in for their biggest psychological boost in months this weekend. But rather than rain on the horizon, there is a convoy of trucks carrying hay donated by fellow farmers. The longer this drought drags on, the more imagination and ingenuity goes into random acts of kindness for the hardest hit rural communities.

Many of those acts, such as a home cooked meal or a hamper of groceries, go virtually unnoticed. But this helping hand is hard to ignore. Eighteen semi-trailers with almost 500 tonnes of hay have been donated by farmers in the south for their long suffering counterparts in the state's north-west.

It is the brainchild of Brendan Farrell, a wheat and sheep farmer from Burrumbuttock in southern NSW."Someone's got to do something because at the moment, the suicide rate is so bad up through NSW and Queensland," he said. Mr Farrell said farmers from all over the country had dropped off feed in Burrumbuttock over the past two months.

But even with 18 trucks delivering hay to 91 farmers, it would only provide them a few weeks of emergency rations."We can't all sit around and worry about ourselves, we need to let these people know we care," he said.

Generosity on a spectacular scale will not just provide an emergency feed ration for livestock. It will also help lift spirits right across the bush.

At times the convoy stretched out nearly 15 kilometres as it barrelled north through little towns that all know what its like to do it tough in dry times.The truckies - who are donating their time and fuel to this hay ride - have been buoyed by the tremendous reception they are getting on the road and what lies ahead in Bourke this weekend.

- ABC
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