LOCAL trucker Ashley Brazier has been carting hay to drought-stricken parts of NSW for the past few months as the state’s big dry gets worse.
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Mr Brazier said he has collected stock feed from Victoria and South Australia.
"But the feed is running out and we will be forced to go to Western Australia and the Northern Territory,” he said.
"Bales are costing $240 each and we can fit 38 bales on a trailer. That equates to nearly $10,000.
"That's not including fuel costs of close to $3000.
"How much longer can farmers keep this up? They can't keep this up forever.”
The farmers he talks to are very distraught, he said.
“All they want to do is talk and I let them do most of the talking."
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Mr Brazier said the NSW Government’s subsidies of up to $20,000 to help cover the cost of transporting fodder and water would equate to about three weeks of feed.
"They are selling what stock they can to keep breeding stock alive,” he said of the state’s drought-stricken farmers. "If they sell their breeding stock, they may as well walk away."
Mr Brazier said trucks carting hay are attracting the attention of Roads and Maritime Services.
Unless you see it first hand you do not realise how tough it is out there for farmers.
- Trucker Ashley Brazier
"On one trip, I had a clearance light out and they fined me $300,” he said. “These costs all add up.
"To keep our log books up to date, we have to have a 12 hour break after driving many hours.
"We spend big money on buying trucks and trailers and we do not get a break.”
The drought had to be declared a natural disaster, he said.
“It's having a flow-on effect on communities.
"Unless you see it first-hand, you do not realise how tough it is out there for farmers. We should be doing more to help - they are the backbone of Australia's food basin."