Caltex lends a hand as hay run organiser Brendan Farrell continues to help out those doing it tough on the land
A truck driver who delivers hay to drought stricken farmers in the northern New South Wales is calling on transport companies to lend a helping hand.
Brendan Farrell has been delivering hay together with owner drivers for the past year and is due to cart another 21 truckloads to affected farmers in Brewarrina, Weilmoringle and Lighting Ridge on September 26.
However, he wants larger corporate companies to get involved, saying farmers need all the help they can get.
“The transport industry already do enough now I think but the problem we have is that I haven’t heard from any corporate trucking company at all on giving me a hand,” Farrell says.
“You don’t hear from the big corporate mobs, it’s all from the little battling farmers that are trying to keep their dreams alive.
“That’s probably the most difficult part because I know with my truck I’ll do a quote for a job and I’ll get absolutely smashed by these big mobs because they can do it for nothing,” he adds.
He has praised Caltex who last week donated a $10,000 cheque to help cover the cost of diesel.
“Local towns and communities right across Australia have been pitching in to help cover some of the operational costs, including the fuel bill.
“We’re doing this off our own backs – it’s just me and 50 of my mates that drive trucks for a living so Caltex’s donation of $10,000 of diesel is a big boost,” Farrell says.
Caltex national manager for business-to-business sales Phil Amos says the agricultural sector is the lifeblood of the country.
“This is an excellent initiative that we are pleased to be able to support,” Amos says.
“Caltex has been delivering fuel to Australian farmers for more than a century, in the good times and the bad – we know many farmers are doing it tough at the moment.
“This special delivery provides farmers both with some practical support and a clear message that they are not in this alone.”
Farmers are set to benefit from 700 squares of donated hay.
A farmer himself, Farrell says he understands the impact of a drought.
“Your emotion starts playing games with your brain and you ask yourself why you do this,” he says.
“The reason why I started helping out was to keep farmers on the land a little longer otherwise we will be in trouble if there are none.
“We want to let them know that someone gives a damn about them; it’s just showing that you don’t have to be a registered charity, a multi-millionaire, to go and help someone.”
For more information about the hay drive initiative, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Burrumbuttock-to-Bourke-hay-run/1397618033820716
Photography: Tamara Whitsed