Unable to afford a full semi-trailer load of hay but needing more feed than charities are often able to provide, farmers such as Bridget Woods are among those falling between the gaps during South Australia’s ongoing drought.<\/p>\n
The Peterborough livestock producer has resorted to dipping into her own superannuation to pay in bulk for hay for her struggling community.<\/p>\n
Over the space of four months, Ms Woods estimates she has spent “probably $80,000” of her own super on trucked-in fodder, while struggling herself to feed her nearly 200 animals, including about 80 cattle and 100 ewes.<\/p>\n
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A Charolais cow and calf on one of the farms that accessed feed through Bridget Woods. (ABC North and West SA: Isabella Kelly)<\/p>\n
“A lot of people have only got small numbers of stock left, and even getting a semi load of hay out, the cost behind that at the moment is astronomical,” Ms Woods said.<\/p>\n
“If you’ve only got a few sheep or cattle left you don’t need a full semi load, so the idea was to source it and then people be able to share in loads.”<\/p>\n
Though there was interest within the community to share a load, it had to be paid up-front.<\/p>\n
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A truckload of hay bought by Bridget Woods with her super. (Supplied: Bridget Woods)<\/p>\n
Ms Woods decided she had two options: “Ask people to believe in me enough to hand over $5,000 for a truckload of hay” or buy it all her own and hope they paid her back.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t have any other options,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I was really scared about doing that, because I knew if it failed I was out of pocket and I had no way of recouping it.”<\/p>\n
She took a leap of faith and a chunk out of her super and funded four separate deliveries.<\/p>\n
As farmers bought feed from her in smaller amounts, she was able to recuperate her costs.<\/p>\n
Circular fodder-funding solution<\/p>\n
The circular model she set up proved to be an efficient solution, and one Ms Woods said could be adopted by other communities struggling with the drought.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bridget Woods and Eileen Martin want to share the financial load for others in their community. (ABC Rural: Brooke Neindorf)<\/p>\n
“The charities, they drop off four or five bales, which is absolutely wonderful and much needed, but it doesn’t fix your problem,” Ms Woods said.<\/p>\n
“The sharing of loads is a solution that can work long term.”<\/p>\n
The dry, red dirt of a drought-ravaged paddock on Bridget Woods’s Peterborough farm. (Supplied: Bridget Woods)<\/p>\n
For now, Ms Woods said she could not afford any more load-sharing deliveries on her own, but alongside local Eileen Martin, she founded the Peterborough Drought Ready Group, which has been seeking funding.<\/p>\n
The group is working towards measures to improve resilience in drought management and support the community.<\/p>\n
“This is not our last drought,” Ms Woods said.<\/p>\n
“This region goes in drought really commonly, but it could be [for] six months. So it’s not a crisis point in six months.<\/p>\n
“It’s probably been at crisis point for maybe 18 months.”<\/p>\n
The things people don’t see<\/p>\n
Ms Woods estimated she has lost about 20 sheep this season, four horses, and about 18 cows, with a majority of the losses related to the drought.<\/p>\n
“Some days you’re feeling sick driving into the paddock wondering what you’re going to deal with today,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Who are you going to have to drag out of a water trough? Who are you going to have to shoot?<\/p>\n
“You go out, you deal with that, you come home, and then you’ve got to move on like nothing has happened.<\/p>\n
“It’s tough. It’s really tough.”<\/p>\n
Accessing support<\/p>\n