Cash injection for desperate Gippsland farmers

Farmers will receive one-off payments of up to $3500 as part of an immediate government cash injection as part of a $13 million relief package to drought-ravaged Gippsland.

Farmers will receive one-off payments of up to $3500 as part of an immediate government cash injection to drought-ravaged Gippsland.

A $13-million relief package, to be unveiled today, will aim to ease the hip-pocket burden on battling farmers who are confronted with the driest two-year stint in the ­region on record.

It includes $5.6 million in Drought Hardship Support Payments for young farmers and about 250 farmers currently receiving Farm Household Allowance in the region.

WHY FARMERS NEED TO REACH OUT BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

DROUGHT-HIT GIPPSLAND FARMERS CRY OUT FOR SUPPORT

PICTURE SPECIAL: DROUGHT IN SOUTHEAST VICTORIA

All other farmers in central and East Gippsland will be eligible for payments of $2500.

The pledge will go some way towards easing the growing angst among farmers who ­believe the state and federal governments have been too slow to address the worsening situation.

Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes will meet with struggling farmers in Giffard, about three hours east of Melbourne, who face huge debts and unprecedented dry conditions.

Ms Symes said the state package would deliver support as quickly as possible to those who need help.

“This puts cash in farmers’ pockets that can be used to pay rates, invest on-farm or bring in feed — it’s about delivering the support they need most,” Ms Symes told the Herald Sun.

“Farmers can use it however they choose, because they know their business better than anyone else.”

Giffard West farmer Trent Anderson with wife Nicole on their drought-stricken property. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

She said the package specifically placed an emphasis on young farmers who are the future of the industry.

In a rare bipartisan action last night, Premier Daniel Andrews, Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien, Nationals leader Peter Walsh and ­independent MP Suzanna Sheed co-signed a letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison asking for more Commonwealth help.

The request for assistance included support for urgently needed water projects, more money for mental health and fast-tracking the state’s ­access to a Future Drought Fund — which is slated to start in 2020.

“Our governments must continue to work together to do what we can, but we cannot wait until 2020, when our farmers and their communities are losing hope now,” the letter said.

An extra $1 million will be provided for a Drought Hardship Fund, which will provide payments to farmers who are struggling but don’t qualify for a Drought Hardship Support Payment.

A dam surrounded by dry paddocks in Lindenow South. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

In an acknowledgment of the worsening conditions in the state’s north and sky-high water and feed costs, young dairy farmers facing hardship and others accessing the federal government benefit will also be eligible for $2500 payments.

An additional $1 million will also be provided across the state to improve water supply access for stock and domestic water users, making it easier for farmers who are forced to cart water.

An extra $5 million will also be put towards a On-Farm Drought Infrastructure Grants program.

The program has already provided almost 2500 farmers across Gippsland and northern Victoria with dollar-for-dollar grants of up to $5000 for on-farm infrastructure to improve drought preparedness and management.

FUTURE IS BLEAK WITHOUT PROPER HELP

Even on the toughest days Trent Anderson’s young kids manage to make him smile.

But the Giffard West farmer — who grows wheat, barley and canola along with his Merino ewes and Hereford cattle on his young dust-ridden property — is just “fed up” with the inaction.

“Dust is blowing here very day. We’re just unsure as to what the future holds,” he said.

“We’ve spent up to our loan limit. The decisions that come beyond April if we don’t see rain are going to be tough.”

The Anderson family has pleaded for government help to keep their property going. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The Anderson family. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Mr Anderson has been a vocal voice among the growing frustration from farmers throughout the district. He says they’ve been forgotten, with the conditions faced equal to the high-profile drought in northern New South Wales and Queensland.

He is disappointed Premier Dan Andrews hasn’t visited to see the conditions first-hand.

He hopes the government understands they need a hand up, not a handout.

“We need help to keep going,” he said. “There’s only so much you can do to survive when it’s like this.”

Mr Anderson said without wife Nicole and the rest of the family he wouldn’t get through.

The dad of five — Clancy, 4, Charlie, 6, Matilda, 8, Riley, 10, and Georgina, 16 — worries it’s taking a toll on them too.

Many of them are too young to remember when it was green. Some haven’t seen decent rain at all.

The Anderson family inside one of their property’s dried-out dams. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Last year he was forced to graze his wheat crop and says he stopped counting after the feed bill passed $500,000.

“We’re in the situation where every spare cent we have has to go towards feed or works on the farm … they make their own fun but they are going without a lot,” he said.

A special treat of fish and chips is now just chips. And the size and value of the property has made it hard to access government help.

“We’ve pulled everything we’ve got in to containment, bought enough feed till up around April but beyond that who knows. We’re feeding six days a week. It literally takes six to seven hours a day to, and the kids help out where they can.”

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