A doctor has offered bales of hay from his farm in Victoria to Central West farmers for free, but he needs to find transport to get it north.
Anaesthitist Dr Peter Brown said he had plenty of hay available on his farm and vineyard on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula after a wet winter.
“I’ve got lots of round bales,” he said after contacting the Central Western Daily with his offer of help for farmers hit by the drought.
“They are four-foot bales and they would fill one semi-trailer at least, or maybe more,” he said.
“I’m happy to donate it but I’m not quite sure what infrastructure there is to pick up the hay and deliver it.”
Dr Brown said unlike NSW, his region of Victoria was not in drought.
“It’s the opposite, we’ve had plenty of rain, the paddocks are wet,” he said.
Dr Brown said if transport could be arranged he believed there were other farmers in the area who would also want to donate hay.
NSW Farmers Orange branch chair Bruce Reynolds said the offer of hay was great news.
It’s the opposite, we’ve had plenty of rain, the paddocks are wet.
- Dr Peter Brown, Victorian farmer wanting to donate hay
“We welcome any support and the community has been brilliant with the amount of support.
“I understand our head office in Sydney has been inundated with support.”
He said cash donations to drought relief charities and to the Country Women’s Association (CWA) were the best way to make donations, particularly if people wanted to donate food or household items.
Mr Reynolds said this enabled farmers to spend the money in their own communities, which helped local businesses, who were also doing it tough during the drought.
You can donate money for drought relief to several charities.
That includes the NSW Farmers' Drought Relief Fund which uses cash donations to purchase IGA vouchers which are then given to the Salvation Army to distribute.
The CWA Disaster Relief Fund is used to assist Australians who have been adversely affected by a disaster while the Rural Aid Buy a Bale program was formed to support rural communities.
NSW Farmers is also running an information night in Orange for farmers which will detail how they can apply for drought relief, and how farmers can assess if they are eligible for support.
It is at the CWA Hall in Robertson Park on Tuesday August 14 from 7pm.
- This article frist appeared in the Central Western Daily.
David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
