A mammoth convoy of donated hay is making its way across the country to help drought-stricken farmers.
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Farmers Across Borders – Hay from WA is bringing 50 road trains of hay with more than 3000 bales to drop off points in NSW and southern Queensland.
But that isn’t all.
They have joined forces with Lions’ Need for Feed Disaster Relief and its Australia Day run to help bring relief where it is most needed.
Lions will contribute about 22 trucks that will make their way up from Victoria.
The logistics alone are a huge operation.
Merriwa farmer Cassandra McLaren has spent 14 hours a day for the past two weeks putting the run together and organising the depots.
The WA convoy will meet Need For Feed trucks in Cobar on Friday night before starting the run early on Saturday.
Some will deliver around Cobar, and slightly east of the town, before joining the convoy on the journey to northern NSW and into southern Queensland as far as Cunnamulla.
The farms are roughly spread over 200,000 square kilometres in NSW and Queensland,
- Ms McLaren said.
“It was more central for everyone to come together in Cobar and then disperse from there. This is all being done by volunteers.”
The hay and straw will be dropped at depots along the way so farmers can collect their allocation.
The fodder won’t be enough to rescue farmers from the grip of drought, but it will bring some relief and reassure them that people care.
It’s a morale booster, and it’s just as good for their mental health as it is for their animals – it’s important for them to know that people care about them and want to do what they can to help,
- Ms McLaren said.
The WA hay was donated by farmers while the Need For Feed stock is a combination of donated and purchased fodder.
This is the first time Farmers Across Borders – Hay from WA has united with Need For Feed.
Need For Feed is also continuing its regular hay runs across the state.
“We’ve been to Tamworth, Gunnedah, Peak Hill – we are still organising our daily runs as well as organising this Australia Day run,” Ms McLaren said.
Belinda-Jane Davis
Passionate about community news
Passionate about community news
