The harsh reality of winter hits home for fire-affected farmers
Many farmers in areas devastated by January’s bushfires are still doing it tough as they play catch-up to try to re-establish their businesses after the fires. Growing conditions were poor over the autumn and there are serious shortages of pasture and fodder in many areas.
So they deeply appreciate the generous range of further assistance measures announced today by the state government. These should see them through this tough first winter after those fires, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association said today.
The assistance package, amounting to more than half a million dollars, will help provide fodder to feed their animals and to reseed their land; and also provide more funds to continue the mammoth job of rebuilding burnt out fences. The Tasmania Prison Service has two crews of seven people to assist farmers with re-fencing, and that will help keep the task moving.
The TFGA has been working with the Bushfire Recovery Taskforce, state government, service organisations and other agencies to deliver the new assistance measures. TFGA will be contacting affected farmers directly to provide the help.
TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said the fires had been a life-changing experience for many farmers, but it had also been an event that had brought out the value of organisations such as the TFGA that could cast their net wide to provide help.
Ms Davis said that that in addition to immediate needs being met through the taskforce efforts, farmers could access assistance to help with:
farm recovery planning managing soil erosion managing weeds pasture and vegetation recovery rehabilitating riparian zones and corridors fire mitigation
As a result of the fires, the TFGA has also established a fodder register. This has two purposes: farmers who have spare fodder can register; and those looking for additional feed will be able to use the register to source supplies through the winter. This register will now be kept active should there be another extreme weather event.
The register is on the TFGA’s website
“The available fodder is not intended to be free; the register more a matchmaking service for farmers,” Ms Davis said.
“Cold weather has slowed pasture growth. If there is a prolonged dry spell, for instance, farmers may have to feed out early.”
Jan Davis, TFGA
