MORE than 40 tonnes of unwanted potatoes from Tasmania have been delivered to drought-stricken farmers outside of Orange to help feed their livestock.
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With the assistance of Quinns Transport and Tas Petroleum, 41 tonnes of second-grade potatoes from the Daly Potato Company were put on a boat and then trucks to reach producers 1300 kilometres away in New South Wales last Wednesday.
The Daly family had already donated eight tonnes to the Dubbo region and are calling for donations to help send another 40 tonnes of produce to Tamworth.
Based in Hobart, the family produce 6000 tonnes of potatoes annually and supply major supermarkets throughout Tasmania.
They usually feed their second grade produce to their own Angus cattle but wanted to help those in other parts of the country who were battling dry conditions.
Family spokesperson Ruby Daly said the latest donation was set to support 40 different farmers within a 30 kilometre radius.
“Because we had a bit of a bad crop, we didn’t get as many firsts,” she said.
“We are farmers ourselves. We have all been through drought and you have just got to help each other out.”
Potatoes are highly desirable to cattle who can eat up to five kilograms of the produce a day.
Ms Daly said they needed further donations to help send another load of stock to Tamworth with recent donations of $3000 going largely towards the boat transport fees.
“It’s very time consuming but if we were in the same position I’m sure that people would go to these lengths,” she said.
To make a donation visit www.gofundme.com/feed-for-farmers
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
