As the full force of drought is felt by farmers across the state, some of Griffith’s own have stepped up to lend a helping hand.
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Joe Lando has been working with Aussie helpers and a number of MIA farmers – including Denis Dinicola in bailing rice straw to send to drought-stricken farmers.
“In the 2002 drought I baled 45,000 bales for drought assistance. Somehow, I got hooked up with it all again. Brian Egan (from Aussie Helpers) rang me up and told me about the situation. I decided to come on board and asking farmers for their rice straw,” Mr Lando said.
“We were able to bale a lot of straw to help out struggling farmers. People are saying ‘our straw is here, come and get it’. We’re just so appreciative to them.”
Thankfully, MIA farmers were able to help out.
“There are a couple of good farmers around who are helping out. Thanks to them we’re able to supply this rice straw.”
According to NSW Department of Primary Industries’ (DPI) combined drought indicator, there is no part of the state unaffected by drought. Almost half the state is officially “in drought” while 21 per cent is currently experiencing “intense drought”.
Aussie Helpers' Rob Whieldon came to collect the goods on Wednesday. Having spent so much time on the road with farmers and producers, he’s seen the huge impact of the drought.
“It (feed) is just running out big time. Every bit counts. We all try to help and help the other people,” Mr Whieldon said.
Mr Dinicola said the decision to step up and help out was a no-brainer.
“We just decided we weren’t going to plant wheat here. We just decided to help the farmers and to give our what we could. It’s extremely important we band together. Farmers out there are struggling and we want to help out,” Mr Dinicola said.
