RELIEF is on its way to South Australian farmers who have been hit hard by the ongoing drought, in the form of truckloads of hay and a community event designed to boost morale.
The Rapid Relief Team (RRT), a charitable arm of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, is trucking 1500 bales of donated hay from Queensland to Jamestown in South Australia on 6 June.
Farmers who have registered for a donation can collect the premium-graded cereal hay at RRT's Farmers Community Connect event.
According to the RRT website, all the donated bales have been allocated, however it is still encouraging livestock producers to register so it can contact them if additional support becomes available.
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EVENT DETAILS
Farmers Community Connect
WHEN: Friday 6 June 2025
WHERE: Victoria Park, Kilmarnock Terrace, Jamestown, South Australia
Time: 7am to 1pm
More information is available on the RRT website.
RRT director, Mick Dunn, said Farmers Community Connect is an initiative aimed at bringing local communities together, to give them a morale boost while also offering practical support.
"Farmers across parts of South Australia have been doing it tough as the drought-conditions continue to impact their lives and livelihoods, and we hope this Farmers Community Connect event will bring them a little relief during this difficult time," Dunn said.
"As well as free hay, farmers will have access to local service providers with a range of support available, and of course we'll be firing up the RRT BBQ and cooking up bacon and egg rolls and signature burgers for those who attend.
We're all in awe of the resilience of our farmers but this drought is more severe than many people realise.This a small way we can help them out."
The event is supported by the South Australian Government, with RRT thanking it for the $195,000 in funding, which will be used for the transportation of donated hay from Queensland.
RRT's contribution is estimated at over $250,000- funding the hay, volunteers, and catering.
This is the RRT's 33rd Farmers Community Connect event, with the team also fully funding the transportation and donation of 250 tonnes of livestock feed to 169 farmers at an event in Mannum, South Australia, in November last year.
Since 2018, RRT has provided support to over 5500 farmers impacted by fire, floods and drought.
MORE INFORMATION
More information on RRT can be found on its website.
Livestock producers register their interest for a donation of hay from the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) can do so here (while this event has reached capacity, RRT is encouraging producers to still register their interest in case more support becomes available).
Those who want to donate to RRT can do so here.
Farmers looking for fodder and other support can also contact Rural Aid via this link, with those who wish to donate to Rural Aid able to do so here.