Drought-stricken farmers across the Hunter can now access state government support to help pay for the cost of transporting fodder and water to their farms as well as taking cattle to agistment.
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Low interest loans up to $20,000 are available with a two-year interest and repayment free period to help farmers find their feet.
NSW Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair will announce the statewide drought transport fund on Monday.
The loan can be used to pay the freight cost for fodder, water and agistment sourced from interstate and the eligibility criteria ensures farmers experiencing hardship tick the boxes.
There is no cap on the fund and paperwork has been streamlined to make applying quick and easy.
Read more: Blair shows genuine concern for farmers
It comes as the government’s latest measure to confirm drought conditions - the Combined Drought Indicator – shows 40 percent of the Hunter is in drought, 20 per cent is now at the onset of drought - thanks to recent rain - and 39.4 per cent is borderline and could slip towards drought or recover.
It’s a similar scenario across NSW with 30.5 per cent of the state in drought or at the onset of it and 63.6 per cent flagged as borderline.
Mr Blair said he was requesting weekly updates from the NSW Department for Primary Industries as farmers faced more tough conditions between now and the end of winter.
“Things will get worse once the cold weather hits and we won’t have the opportunity for pasture growth like what we would have had if we had an earlier break in March,” he said.
We think the time was right for this change - particularly as we’re heading into winter and we haven’t had that break,
- NSW Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair
“We’re hoping the two-year interest free no payment period will be enough for things to turn for the better.”
The announcement comes after The Mercury wrote to Mr Blair in February about the severe drought and urged him to help.
A week later Mr Blair visited the Lower Hunter to meet with farmers, relevant government staff and The Mercury to grasp a better understanding of the situation.
Since then he has been working behind the scenes to create a practical fund that is suitable for a range of farming pursuits including the Hunter’s main agriculture industries – beef, dairy and crop farming.
Mr Blair said including water cartage was a priority after he heard about the extreme measures some farmers were taking to keep their stock and vegetable crops alive.
“Water cartage was something that was definitely a missing piece,” he said.
“We’ve seen some unusual circumstances, particularly in the Hunter - having water infrastructure on the farm is one thing and our Farm Innovation Fund did that but the lack of rainfall meant that water carting was something that was needed.
We also want farmers that have spent generations building up their core genetics to be able to make sure that they can rebuild as quickly as possible with that genetic base once we do get the break.
The state government abolished fodder and transport subsidies a few years ago because it drove the price up.
Mr Blair put the transport industry on notice and confirmed the government had researched transport costs and knew what was appropriate.
“We don’t want to see these funds disappearing into an increase in transport costs. We want to make sure they help those that need it and we will be monitoring the implementation as well,” he said.
“The processes we’ve got in place will hopefully not allow that to occur. That is not a criticism of the transport industry because we know they do it tough as well during a drought, we don’t want to see any rogue operators giving a bad name to the rest who do the right thing.”
Mr Blair urged struggling farmers to put their pride aside and access help.
“Farmers need to be thinking about what they will be doing through winter. Things aren’t getting any easier and we want to make sure people are thinking about what to do if we don’t get any sort of break, and in some cases if we do it may be a bit too late,” he said.
The introduction of the Combined Drought Indicator in March – which is part of the state government’s Enhanced Drought Information System – provides a real-time look at farming conditions across NSW to help farmers make evidence-based decisions.
An App will soon be released so farmers can easily access the information daily.
It collects rainfall, soil moisture and pasture growth data and combines it with meteorological, hydrological and agronomic definitions of drought to provide an official confirmation of farming conditions.
“The old tools we used just looked at rainfall and that hasn’t really worked over recent months,” Mr Blair said.
Some places have had rainfall but it has been in big short, sharp bursts and it’s run-off and you’ve seen that in the Hunter where it hasn’t been able to soak in.
Belinda-Jane Davis
Passionate about community news
Passionate about community news
