By Oscar Parry
With a tough winter ahead for farmers, Moorabool council will investigate the drought relief opportunities available to local farmers and what role the council would play in their provision.
Raised at a May 14 unscheduled council meeting, councillor Tom Sullivan said that with a number of councils in southwestern Victoria receiving drought relief, local farmers are experiencing “similar climatic conditions to those in other parts of the state.”
Cr Sullivan called on officers to prepare a report outlining the eligibility criteria and opportunities that may exist for Moorabool farmers through the Australian Government On Farm Drought Infrastructure Grants program and the Victorian Government Dry Seasons and Drought Support program – including what role the council would be required to play.
“This is to explore …. what is the eligibility so that we may see where the opportunity exists for our farmers,” Cr Sullivan said.
Fiskville farmer and Victorian Farmers Federation livestock council president Scott Young said that because the drought has lasted so long, “everyone’s eaten into their hay and grain supplies that they usually have put away to get them through winter.”
“Farmers are really struggling to source hay and grain to feed their livestock, and when they can source it, it’s up to six times dearer than what it normally would be,” Mr Young said.
He said that many farmers – including himself – are having to make the difficult decision of whether to sell off their livestock and buy back in at another time.
“It’s had a big mental health impact on the industry with a lot of farmers feeling overwhelmed with the decision they have to make … quite often these farmers are generational and they’ve got a real attachment to their land, and for them to feel like they may have to sell up or not be able to keep farming any more – it has some real mental impacts for some people,“ he said.
He said that is important for farmers to make their decisions early, and that the Agriculture Victoria website’s farm management and feed budgeting resources – along with rural financial counsellors – could be of assistance to farmers.
