Aussie Hay Runners Linda Widdup’s hay mission rolls on
From 13 trucks to 2000 loads: How one Victorian farmer's response to a stranger's suffering created an unstoppable force in rural crisis relief.
Linda Widdup was struck by the image of a farmer she saw on the news.
It was 2019, and drought had ravaged most of southern Australia. Linda, a second-generation cattle farmer from Carlisle River in Victoria’s Otway Ranges, could see the pain in the NSW farmer’s eyes, as he shared his plight.
“His face stayed with me, it was heartbreaking,” she says, “I showed my dad, and he said ‘well, what are we going to do to help them?’”
At that moment, Linda, a relief truck driver, decided to load up her truck and hit the highway, delivering hay to those in need. She called a few farming mates who were only too happy to join her, then she rang the Dunedoo Lions Club to tell them help was on its way.
When they left Linda’s farm for central western NSW, the convoy comprised 13 semis, and 15 horse floats, trailers, trucks, and vans, all full to the brim with hay – and Aussie Hay Runners was born.
“We marched our bums up to Dunedoo, and before I’d even left there to come home, I had a further 13 truckloads of hay donated to me to distribute, it was amazing,” she says.
Since then, Aussie Hay Runners has crisscrossed Australia, delivering almost 2000 truckloads of hay to farmers impacted by drought, floods, and fire.
Linda and her team of volunteer drivers and helpers, have provided an incredible 68,000 bales of hay, to the value of more than $7m, which has assisted almost 5000 farmers in need.
She relies on donations, the support of volunteers and community groups such as the Heyfield Lions Club, and NSW Rural Assistance Authority.
“I never imagined we’d still be doing it today, and frankly, we hoped we wouldn’t be doing it anymore,” says Linda.
“We had a breather for about six months last year and I thought ‘yay, finally Mother Nature is giving us a break’, but she came back with a helluva vengeance. Cyclone Alfred came down with such fury and totally destroyed farms, and now we have drought in some places too. The phones started ringing again in January and they haven’t stopped since. We work 24/7 and some of our drivers haven’t been home for a month.”
Linda’s commitment to supporting rural communities has been recognised nationally; in 2024, she received the Dream Maker Award from Transport Women Australia Ltd, honouring her contributions to the transport industry and rural aid. But she certainly doesn’t do it for the accolades.
“I got the most beautiful message this morning from a dairy farmer, she was so grateful for what we did. It was hard to get the trucks into her place but our drivers persevered and went to great lengths to help her. She rang me to tell me she was watching her cattle on the other side of the fence having a big chew. She cried, I cried too. It’s those moments that keep us all going.”
Linda Widdup is a nominee in the 2025 Shine Awards. To nominate an outstanding rural woman whose story deserves to be told, click here.
