‘Adopt A Farmer’ campaign to help drought stricken families

Farmers enduring the worst drought in living memory are facing another winter without enough rain to grow crops or feed stock. The Herald Sun has launched the Adopt A Farmer campaign to lend drought-stricken farmers a hand.

Farmers enduring the worst drought in living memory are facing another winter without enough rain to grow crops or feed stock.

More than 65,000 Australian farmers, mostly in Victoria, NSW and Queensland, are struggling while community businesses suffer reduced cashflow as families fight to stay afloat.

The Herald Sun has launched the Adopt A Farmer campaign to lend drought-stricken farmers a hand.

On May 8, there will be an Adopt a Farmer gold coin free dress day in schools across the state, NSW and Queensland.

Our partner Rural Aid will collect funds from schools with a goal of giving $100 on Visa giftcards to thousands of farmers registered through the charity’s Buy a Bale campaign.

“The hope is that we can ship over 8000 cards to farmers that can then be spent within the local economy, helping sustain rural businesses also facing the full brunt of the effects of drought,” Rural Aid chief executive Charles Alder said.

The Anderson family's Giffard property has been affected by the drought.

The National Australia Bank and AGL had donated $100,000 each to start the fundraising effort, designed to inject money back into local businesses and to give farmers, adopted by the state’s children, a small reprieve from financial pressure.

Qantas will fly five students and their teacher from Melbourne to the bush to meet farmers for a day.

And IGA is offering $1000 grocery gift cards to students who write their own stories of how the drought has affected them.

Many farmers in southern Australia look to the autumn break as the marker to start the crop and pasture growing season.

But the season launched with one of the 10 driest Aprils since national records began.

Dry and unusually warm conditions this year have seen a drop in soil moisture and has reduced regional areas to a barren moonscape, while eastern Victoria has endured severe low rainfall.

Windsor Primary, is among Victorian campuses lending a helping hand through the Adopt A Farmer campaign. Picture: Sarah Matray

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting “an extensive dry spell” this month, stretching from south east Queensland all the way to Tasmania, mainly on the western side of the Great Dividing Range.

To make matters worse there is a severe shortage of traditional stock feed like hay, wheat and oats in eastern Australia, forcing farmers to buy cottonseed, corn, rice by-products and even grape skins leftover from wine processing to feed animals.

Many farmers are buying in hay from as far as Western Australia, which has become more expensive as the drought continues and local shortage of feed worsens.

A tonne of hay now costs about $500, which is more than double the price about two years ago.

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

The Herald Sun, with the support of our state’s schools, has an ambitious goal — to hold a gold-coin Free Dress Day on Wednesday, May 8 to support 8,000 farmers. Students can write to farmer,s and we want to give them a chance to visit a rural community.

FLY TO DROUGHT AFFECTED COMMUNITY

Qantas will fly five students and their teacher to community to meet farmers. Tell us in 25 words of less why your school should be selected.

TELL US HOW THE DROUGHT HAS AFFECTED YOU

IGA will give $1000 gift vouchers to 20 students in rural communities who write their stories telling us how the drought has affected them.

To enter, email: [e-mail]

GET INVOLVED AT WORK

Host a Free Dress Day on Wednesday, May 8 and donate the funds to

Account name: Rural Aid — Adopt a Farmer

BSB: 114-879

Account number: 478 388 542