Latest news with #YvetteMcKenzie
ABC News
13-07-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Southern NSW farmers call for financial relief as ongoing drought takes a toll
Recent rain in southern New South Wales has put water in dams and turned dusty paddocks green, but farmers say the drought drags on, with some calling for financial assistance. After more than 50 millimetres of rain since the end of May at Yvette McKenzie's farm near Bethungra, about 65 kilometres north-east of Wagga Wagga, she calls the situation the "green drought" — the landscape looks good from a distance but grass hasn't grown enough to sustain livestock. Yvette McKenzie's dam in May 2025. / And after recent rain. That means Ms McKenzie and other farmers across the state's south are handfeeding livestock. "It doesn't rain feed," she said. "We are still on full grain ration for the sheep, as well as silage and hay, to keep up with the fibre "It is hard on you mentally, physically and emotionally." Ms McKenzie expects to be handfeeding for another two months. Yvette McKenzie says she'll be handfeeding her livestock for months. ( ABC News: Cara Jeffery ) According to the Bureau of Meteorology, 40-100 millimetres of rain has fallen in the Riverina since the start of May, but most of the region is still classified as "in drought" or "drought affected" on the NSW Department of Primary Industries drought indicator map. Hay prices 'through the roof' Holbrook producer Bruce Allworth is in a similar predicament, spending six hours, three times a week, feeding his sheep and cattle. He has used all the hay stockpiled in previous seasons and has bought 600 tonnes of grain since January. "There has been a real shortage [of hay] and we've moved over to grain, simply because the price of hay was going through the roof," Dr Allworth said. "You can't get away from the fact that it's a lot of money that you're spending, the animals aren't doing as well as you'd like them to do … and so it weighs on you." Feeding livestock has become a daily routine for drought-affected farmers. ( ABC News: Emily Doak ) Beef producer and contract haymaker Richard Harbison worries about the mental toll the drought is taking on producers. "The last 12 months have been pretty stressful," he said. "I just hope that people can talk to them and just make sure that they are travelling alright." Martin Preuss says workshops have been well-attended by farmers. ( ABC News: Emily Doak ) Local Land Services senior drought adoption officer Martin Preuss said workshops had been providing advice and much-needed social interaction for affected farmers. "It's looking at what options they've got to try and reduce costs, maintain productivity and have a sustainable process to get through until the drought breaks," he said. Calls for assistance Farmers, along with the Yass Valley, Snowy Valleys and Greater Hume councils, are calling for more drought relief for producers, similar to that provided for floods or bushfires. "This has certainly been an exceptional drought, one that we couldn't plan our way through," Dr Allworth said. "It's a little bit frustrating when we've been in the same conditions as the Victorian and South Australian producers and they've been getting support." Bruce Allworth is spending hours each day feeding grain to his cattle and sheep. ( ABC News: Emily Doak ) The South Australian government is providing freight subsidies for charities donating hay, plus grants to upgrade farm infrastructure, including water, grain or fodder storage. There are similar infrastructure grants in Victoria, along with rate relief and household support payments. In a statement, NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said flexible, low-interest loans of up to $250,000 were available to help farmers strengthen drought preparedness. "The government is continually monitoring the situation in southern NSW to ensure the needed assistance is being offered," she said. Ms Moriarty said $149 million in loans had been provided through the drought infrastructure fund and "drought-ready and resilient" fund.
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Farmers sell off record numbers of stock as southern NSW drought bites
Dams have dried up and the paddocks of Yvette McKenzie's New South Wales Riverina sheep farm are dry and bare. While torrential rain lashes eastern Australia, conditions could not be more different at Ms McKenzie's Bethungra property. "I haven't seen it this dry in the 25 years that we've had this property," she said. Cattle have been sold in record numbers, farmers have brought in feed for their livestock and the potential of newly planted grain crops has waned across southern NSW. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, parts of the Riverina received 1–10 millimetres of rain last month. Ms McKenzie said she had been forced to reduce livestock numbers. Ms McKenzie said feeding the sheep with silage and grain helped her get a good price for the surplus livestock, despite the dry conditions. She said she had focused on keeping her best sheep. "It's keeping the top line so we can keep our genetics and selling off anything that is not a breeder," she said. Record numbers of cattle have been sold at the Wagga Wagga saleyards amid worsening drought conditions. An offering of 5,000 head of cattle would normally be considered large, so when almost 8,700 cattle were sold earlier this month at the saleyards, the agents were stretched to capacity. Cattle auctioneer Tyler Pendergast said truckloads of cattle had been moved to the "greener pastures of the north". Mr Pendergast said that was providing an opportunity for local producers to offload stock. According to the Department of Primary Industries, 1.7 per cent of NSW is in drought, and a further 23.1 per cent is drought-affected. Almost all of that is in the Riverina and Murray. Local Land Services drought adoption officer Geoff Minchin said the difference was "chalk and cheese". "Two different planets, really very dry in the south and very wet in the north," he said. Mr Minchin, who advises farmers on drought management strategies, said producers were drawing on their experience in previous droughts to adapt farming practices. "I think there's a higher percentage of landholders that are better prepared and making some really good decisions," he said. He said destocking, making sure feed was at hand and planning grazing to protect ground cover were good strategies. At Marrar, north of Wagga Wagga, farmer Ben Langtree has been planting crops into dry ground after several months without rain. "Sometimes we've started the sowing and it's been a bit dry but not the whole way through," he said. Mr Langtree said he had cut back on crops that were more expensive to plant, such as canola, instead using barley and oats. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, there is a 20 per cent chance of exceeding the median rainfall in Marrar in May, which is 5.9mm. It is expected to rise to 52 per cent in June, with a historical median chance of 48.9mm of rain. There is a 48 per cent chance of Wagga Wagga exceeding its medium rain fall next month, which is 53.3mm. Despite the tough conditions, Mr Langtree said it was not too late for the season to turn around. "Rain sooner than later would be great and it would get us back on track," he said. "Every farmer is a gambler, they take a fair bit of risk every year so this is just a different type of risk for us now."
