"Give a helping hand, lend some land."
That's the slogan of new online service, Find a Paddock, which helps connect farmers in need of agistment with farmers who have a spare paddock and are willing to help.
Founded by Jerilderie couple, Isobell Adams and Gus Phillips, the idea for Find a Paddock came in the midst of the bushfire crisis this summer.
"I was sitting down with five farmers for dinner and at the time there were fires going on and smoke everywhere," Ms Adams said.
"We were saying what would you do in this situation? Where would you move livestock and is there anyone that is a point of contact that can help find people to take cattle or sheep on quite quickly.
"Gus also knew of a few farmers who wanted to offer to take on livestock from the fire-affected producers but didn't know who needed help."
Ms Adams said therefore they decided to try and fill the gap between those in need and those willing to help.
"Think of us as a well connected friend of a friend," the Find a Paddock website reads.
Ms Adams explained that people visiting the website can choose from two options, 'I need a paddock' or 'I have a paddock.'
"You fill in a form indicating what type of livestock and how many you need agistment for or can offer agistment for," she said.
"There's also an option for short-term or long-term agistment and whether you can offer the paddock for free or require payment."
Ms Adams said they then used the information given on the forms to connect the right people together.
"Once we find a match we give them a call and ask if they are still interested, if they both say yes we give them contact details and it's up to them to organise details and transport," Ms Adams said.
"That's the end of our role, we're just the bridge."
Ms Adams said so far they had had a great response, pushing the free service out through social media.
"It's early days, we only went live about a week ago, but we've already been contacted by farmers looking for agistment," she said.
"We're just trying to make people aware the service is there and hope to help break down the stigma of asking for help."
For more information go to - https://www.findapaddock.com/ or follow Find a Paddock at @findapaddock
