As the drought clings to the land with no foreseeable end, the city has heard the cry of the country.
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A recent drive in the Gunnedah shire with his wife and former local, Bronwyn, has prompted Lane Cove councillor Andrew Zbik to bring to light to our dire situation.
A sister city to Gunnedah, Lane Cove will soon reach out to Gunnedah Shire Council after the councillors agreed it was time to step in to see what can be done.
A world away from the sights and sounds of drought, Sydney-siders only hear about it from a distance – on their televisions, radios and through social media. It is not a reality for city dwellers. It is not a daily battle for them to keep stock alive, money in the bank and food on the table.
The Liverpool Plains is commonly dubbed a national “food bowl”, but this season, farmers haven’t even had enough soil moisture in their paddocks to plant winter crops. They are already looking ahead to summer crops in the hope something can be salvaged.
Talk to farmers and they will tell you the forecast isn’t good, with no decent rainfall expected in the coming months after countless days of blue skies and empty clouds.
Cattle with jutting hip bones crowd rural thoroughfares as their owners seek to keep them fed, camping with their working dogs on the side of the road in the chill winter nights. But still, dead cattle lie abandoned because they didn’t make it through until morning.
And the dust – the air is hazy with dust as stock desperately search desolate paddocks for a single strand of vegetation.
Graziers are running out of ways to keep up feed, with high freight costs to transport hay, which is becoming increasingly difficult to source as the drought stretches its deadly fingers further inland.
Tough times call for innovative ideas, with the Hoddles from Gunnible Pastoral Company now using orange peels as cattle feed on their property near Carroll.
If the drought has done one thing, it has reminded country folk that they need to stick together. Every day, someone is donating to farmers, organising fundraisers and offering clothing, toiletry items, washing machines and showers.
These acts of kindness raise hope in those who desperately need something to cling to as we move just one day closer to rain.
Want to know how to help? Check out our list of what-to-do here.
