Rural Aid Offers Relief To Farmers

Farmers tend to take a lot of knocks when natural disasters occur, and last month’s floods definitely struck a blow.

A Rural Aid counsellor is currently visiting flood-affected farmers in the Hawkesbury area for the second time this month.

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said they felt for Aussie farmers who’ve been dealt a tough hand by Mother Nature of late.

“We hope the kind and caring Rural Aid team will make their recovery a little bit easier,” Mr Warlters said.

“I commend the Rural Aid volunteers for the tough, physical work they are putting in this week.

“But one of Rural Aid’s most important roles right now is to be a listening ear for those doing it tough.

“It can be very powerful for farmers to see complete strangers caring so much for them.”

Twenty Rural Aid volunteers are currently supporting dairy farmers on Oxley Island, just outside of Taree, where surviving cattle have been kept in small pens, due to the hazards washing into paddocks with floodwaters, so volunteers are fixing fences, making repairs, and generally cleaning pastures.

A Rural Aid Counsellor and Works Coordinators are also helping with the recovery effort on Oxley Island. One Rural Aid volunteer is also assisting victims of Cyclone Seroja in Western Australia, where primary producers still face a daunting clean up, more than two weeks after the cyclone made landfall.

Farmers in need of assistance are urged to register for financial aid and free mental well-being counselling by logging on at https://faa.ruralaid.org.au/farmer-registration/.

You can donate to Rural Aid at https://www.ruralaid.org.au/donate/.

• Topics:

• Charity / Worthwhile Causes
• Rural Roundup
• Agriculture / Farming