Wet weather only boosted the spirits of the men and women banding together to deliver drought relief donations to Orange late last week.
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On Friday, a B-double truck and trailer dropped off a load of round hay bales donated by Mansfield’s Graeme Barr to Feed 4 Farmers.
On Saturday, the goodwill continued when the Sutherland Shire Convoy 4 Farmers delivered food and goods to Orange’s Pay It Forward.
Pay It Forward director Karlie Irwin said the goods collected from businesses and families in the Cronulla area would go to six of the worst-affected farming families in our region.
Part of the weekend delivery included four 15,000-litre water tanks, two of which found homes on farms at Ophir and Springside.
Ms Irwin described the reaction from the families receiving these goods as one of “sheer relief”.
“There’s lots of emotions and tears. I’ve personally had farmers sob and break down in my arms. Some are okay, but others are really fragile,” she said.
The Cronulla convoy was led from the coast by the Veterans Motorcycle Club’s Picton chapter, which were met by the Central West chapter of the club before being escorted to Glenroi.
From there, 15 utes and cars waited to help unload and distribute supplies.
Courtesy of the delivery, Pay It Forward and its Feed 4 Farmers branch delivered support to 16 families during the 48-hour period.
Having spent the last few months visiting drought-affected farms, Ms Irwin said she’s had to build a resilience.
“Each environment is really different, some incredibly confronting and emotional,” she said.
“Going into farms where you’re seeing potential grief and loss of animals, it’s not easy.”
Sharing the thanks on the weekend were MCA Engineering in Parkes, who donated the truck and driver to bring the hay up from Victoria, where dry conditions continue to afflict farmers.
Some relief came to this state in the last few days, with Orange receiving more than 19 millimetres of rain on Friday. More could be on its way, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting up to 15 millimetres on Thursday.
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