Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) has welcomed today’s 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 NSW Farmers and ADF.
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.”
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.”