Australian Dairy Farmers, eastAUSmilk and NSW Farmers have welcomed the announcement that farmers impacted by devastating floods in NSW will be eligible for Category D disaster assistance grants of up to $75,000.
The support package follows weeks of pressure from affected communities and farmer groups including ADF, eastAUSmilk and NSW Farmers.
ADF president Ben Bennett congratulated the NSW Government for its leadership in working constructively with the Commonwealth to secure this long-overdue support.
“This funding will be a vital lifeline for farmers in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions who’ve been hit hard by record flooding,” Mr Bennett said.
“ADF, eastAUSmilk and NSW Farmers have been calling for this since May, so it’s great to see both the Commonwealth and NSW governments working together in providing this assistance.
“We commend the NSW Government for recognising the scale of damage and standing by local producers — especially our dairy farmers — who are doing it incredibly tough.”
EastAUSmilk vice-president and Taree dairy farmer Tim Bale said this support was a “very welcome contribution to help our dairy farmers get back on their feet after the disastrous flood event”.
“These severe climate events have a severe and long-lasting impact on our herd health, milk production and pastures critical to produce high quality milk for Australians,” he said.
“Our dairy farm families experience the strain of this impact on their prized herd, their homes and livelihoods.
“The announcement of Cat D provides support of $75,000 to the most affected businesses and is well short of the actual impact — but it is appreciated.
“EastAUSmilk will continue to work with the NSW and federal governments to improve resilience to withstand future events and on processes to deliver support in a more-timely way.”
NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin said the additional funding was overdue for farmers hit hard by successive flood and storm events.
“We’ve heard many stories of extraordinary destruction and devastation from these regions,” Mr Martin said.
“These producers and their communities have endured multiple events in an extreme year, and they’ve been left waiting long enough for further help to arrive.”
Mr Martin encouraged eligible producers to access the support as soon as they were able, with a range of other disaster relief assistance also available for those affected.
“We know recovery is still taking up a huge amount of time and effort, but it’s important to make use of the support that’s there to get you back on your feet.
“As well as this new assistance, there’s also a range of other disaster relief supports available, and it’s a good idea to talk to the NSW Rural Assistance Authority to see what’s out there to help you get through these tough times and beyond.”
The grants are designed to help farmers cover clean-up operations, emergency feed, fodder and water, infrastructure repairs, disposal of dead livestock, and rebuilding damaged or destroyed on-farm assets.
Eligible primary producers can apply through the NSW Rural Assistance Authority. More information is available at www.raa.nsw.gov.au or by calling 1800 678 593.
ADF continues to call for timely and equitable disaster support across all states and sectors.
“We’re also calling on the Victorian and South Australian governments to work with the Commonwealth to secure similar assistance for their drought-stricken farmers,” Mr Bennett said.
“While we have seen a recent drought announcement by the Victorian Government, there is still a conspicuous absence of targeted measures to address the particular needs of dairy farmers in drought such as fodder freight subsidies.
“This oversight is placing significant financial strain on dairy farmers who are already battling skyrocketing input costs primarily through lack of access to adequate stockfeed and water.”