Water Cartage Assistance for Drought Stricken Farmers

It is not just the lack of rain that is affecting 99% of NSW, but also the heat, with record-breaking temperatures close to 10 degrees above average.

May was an exceptionally dry month for Australia. Nationally, May rainfall was the third-lowest on record, and it seems things are not going to look up for us during winter either, with The Bureau of Meteorology forecasting that winter is likely to be drier than average.

"It we were to have significantly below normal rainfall through the winter, which is what the outlook is pointing towards, that would clearly exacerbate the rainfall deficits that we currently have," stated Dr Blair Trewin, a senior climatologist at the bureau.

The drought area includes large regions around the Greater Hunter Valley region, ACT, including parts of the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, Yass Valley, Goulburn Mulwaree, Hilltops, Upper Lachlan, Shoalhaven and Bega Valley. While many of our farmers are forced to sell off their livestock at sale yards across the state, some are hanging in, there which is costing them upwards of $10,000 per week in grain!

Unfortunately during this drought season, not only has there been a lack of feed for stock but obviously water, and the only option some farmers have been left with as their dams and local water source have dried up, is to source and cart the water from elsewhere.

Water cartage is expensive, with the cost of carted water in NSW being about $13.50/kg on top of your normal expensive. This can add an extra 20-30% to your costs, and some farmers have had to calculate - is it more worthwhile to sell off stock than purchase the feed and water to keep them alive?

Thankfully in April, the NSW Drought Transport Fund was unveiled, providing up to $20,000 in low-interest loans to help farmers pay for freight costs including fodder transport, moving stock to agistment and water cartage. The Farm Innovation Fund, launched in 2013 has helped farmers with building water infrastructure on land, but the lack of rainfall meant that assistance with water cartage was severely needed.

Minister for Primary Industries and Nationals MLC, Niall Blair has urged farmers to take up the assistance - while it may not be everything they are asking for, it goes a long way to provide short-term assistance.

Below are the two government schemes put forward in NSW and QLD to support property owners who need to transport water and feed for stock.

Queensland Drought Relief Assistance

New South Wales Transport Assistance for Animal Welfare

For further info on how we can help with your next water cartage solution, check out this great read on Poly Water Tanks or look at our range of tanks online.