Drought assistance available in Australia

The impact of drought

Aussie farmers know the struggle with drought and low rainfall and how it affects business, as well as day-to-day life. Many farmers are hesitant to spend money in the fear of not making it back if things don’t improve, while other farmers are off-loading livestock and assets to recover their losses. One of the key things is to plan ahead – droughts are a naturally recurring event and they are guaranteed to come back again.

It will rain again, we will have wet years and we will have years of plenty so the key is – how are we placed to take advantage of these years, and maximise their benefits to help cushion the blow when the dry years return? While there are countless debates raging about the impact of humans on the climate, the fact of it is, we have to adjust and plan for whatever mother nature throws our way.

Coming off the back of dry years it's no surprise that our battle-weary farmers could be struggling for the cash needed to implement their drought plan. This is where it would be wise to take advantage of the assistance that is available. The NSW Government is strongly encouraging farmers to take advantage of the available funding primarily directed at helping farmers become more drought resilient.

The Drought RELIEF LOAN

The program supports eligible primary production enterprises to undertake drought-related activities necessary to sustain operations and manage the impacts of drought. This includes activities relating to animal welfare, on-farm infrastructure works, and environmental activities.

This program is administered by Rural Assistance Authority.

This program is funded by NSW Treasury.

The Drought Relief Loan:

• Purchasing and transporting fodder.
• Purchasing and transporting stock and domestic water.
• Purchasing livestock feed storage, mixing and feeding equipment.
• Transporting stock to sale or agistment.
• Veterinary/professional nutrition or animal welfare advice.
• Genetic banking where destocking of stock is demonstrated.
• Fencing for rotational grazing, exclusion and cluster fencing, construction of containment feeding pens, stock shade structures.

On-farm infrastructure

• On-farm water infrastructure (tanks, stock water systems, pumps, drilling bores, desalination or water quality equipment and related repairs).
• Dam maintenance earthworks.
• On-farm grain and fodder storage infrastructure (silos, grain bunkers, hay sheds, silage pits, etc).
• Livestock feeding equipment.

Environmental improvements

• Pest and weed control.
• Soil conservation and earthworks (including erosion control, contour banks, overbanks (keyline), water ponding and the management of vegetation and maintaining groundcover.

As you can see this loan is very versatile and could be suited to a number of different farmers and their needs. This loan programme enables farmers to invest in assets and infrastructure that will make the times ahead easier – whether dry or wet.

A hay shed for $95 a day!

It doesn't take too much to work out that this loan is a great deal for farmers. On average, a standard hay shed will cost $150,000. When paid off over five years under a Drought Relief Loan this works out to be only $95 a day! That’s incredible considering the return on investment a quality hay storage shed will provide and that it has the ability to store hundreds of hay bales.

Prepare for the future with a hay shed

ABC Sheds - structural steel hay shed. 

If you live in an area with minimal annual rainfall, a standard 15m x 32m hay shed can be a saving grace for any farmer looking to keep water up for livestock, as well as keeping feed fresh, safe and dry!

Why not look at our Durakit range, hay sheds in stock now! Download your price list here

Looking at a 15m x 32m hay shed, with a minimal annual rainfall of 500mm, up to 240,000L of water could be potentially caught and stored. This equates to approximately 480 full water troughs (or 500L). Water calculations are taken from kingspan.com.

By investing in a hay shed, not only will you store your hay for as low as $95 a day, you can collect the water off the shed to further prepare you for the future, and the well-being of your livestock.

ABC Sheds offer custom-designed hay sheds to protect your bales from the elements. With our years of expertise in rural shed design and construction, we provide reliable storage for all of your hay bales. And with flexible bays, you will always have the right amount of storage space that you require.

If you’re considering taking up a loan under the Drought Relief Loan and would like some guidance around potential hay shed options available to you, get in touch with our friendly team today to discuss your hay storage needs!