On Sunday when the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited Trangie once again he announced farmers receiving the Farm Household Allowance will also receive two one-off payments. 

The threshold for the FHA will also be increased, so more will be eligible for the funds. 

But the package has been labelled as short sighted, with the government not fully understanding the long term effects of the drought. 

While it’s about getting our farmers through the dry times at the moment, it’s also about getting them, and future generations through in the long term and making agriculture sustainable for the future. 

Related reads

When you look back, a lot has happened in the last few months. 

At the moment, the wider community is doing a great job of assisting farmers to get through the current drought. 

In fact it’s overwhelming to see everyone, everyday people, at a true grass-roots level, putting their hands up to help.

This desire to help has been ongoing and it’s come from every pocket of our community and it doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.

It’s not just rural communities helping each other.

From the coast to the bush, people are putting their hands into their pockets and donating what they can to help out. It may not be money – it may be food, it may be toiletries, or pre-paid credit cards. 

This latest announcement by the federal government will offer farmers direct cash payments – helping them buy the necesseties that many have been just doing without as much as possible. 

The feeling that not enough is being done by the respective governments to assist farmers was summed by by drought awareness campaigner Edwina Robertson who said people were sick of being told that farmers need to be resilient. 

So, now, while we focus on the current position our farmers are finding themselves in, we also need to keep in mind the future. 

We need to look forward, because this weather will happen again and how we get through it now, will be lessons learned for the future.