For Tony Osborn, fixing fences is far from a chore.
“Today we’re pulling down an old fence, clearing it up, and rebuilding it,” he said.
In fact, he recently travelled nearly 1,400 kilometres from his Gold Coast home to the little town of Dederang, in north-east Victoria, to lend a hand doing just this.
Mr Osborn was one of 34 volunteers who gave their time to local farmers in the region, many of whom had been hit by winter storms and drought.
It was the 17th time he had volunteered as part of a farm recovery program, run by national charity Rural Aid.
Established in 2015, Rural Aid provides on-the-ground support to farmers affected by natural disasters in the form of hay drops, financial assistance and counselling.
Mr Osborn volunteers his time to help disaster-hit farmers. (ABC Rural: Faith Tabalujan)
Mr Osborn said it all started with a spontaneous chat.
“My wife and I were at a caravan show, and Rural Aid had a trade booth there talking about what they do as an organisation,” he said.
“We were impressed with their story and they were looking for volunteers, so we decided to have a crack.”
Mr Osborn said being part of Rural Aid’s farm army had seen them criss-cross the country.
“From Queensland, we’ve travelled as far as South Australia and Victoria with Rural Aid,” he said.
“So it’s been an amazing journey.”
‘A loyal bunch’
Mr Osborn said after spending 20 years in the military, he had found a new sense of purpose as a farm volunteer.
“If you’re lucky, you progress in your retirement to where you can give back to the community, and that led us to Rural Aid,” he said.
“And what we get out of it as volunteers is extraordinary, especially the gratitude of farmers.
“It’s almost overwhelming.”
Like Mr Osborn, most of the volunteers live in the city.
Rural Aid’s Grant Miskimmin says volunteers are keen to connect with farmers. (ABC Rural: Faith Tabalujan)
But Rural Aid farms and community coordinator Grant Miskimmin said it was their attitude that counted.
“We have a loyal bunch and, even though the majority of our volunteers are retirees, they come with lots of enthusiasm and life skills,” he said.
“We have plumbers, carpenters, roofing contractors, and even a retired dairy farmer. And some of them have grown up on farms as well.
“There is a divide between the country and the city, but we’re trying to bridge that gap.”
And fixing fences is one way to do that.
“One farmer told us he’s been working on this fence for 13 years, and we repaired it in one day,” Mr Miskimmin said.
“We all know farmers are time-poor, so we help with those little tasks they walk past every day but just don’t have time to do.”
A challenging season
That fact is all too familiar for Kiewa Valley dairy farmer Ebony Mull — particularly during a challenging season.
“We’ve had flood after flood for the last few years, and then this year we had no rain in autumn up until about July,” Ms Mull said.
“We’ve gone two months without the grass we usually have, so have eaten into our fodder supplies and had to buy a lot more feed than normal.
“And everyone in the valley is in the same boat.”
Ms Mull says many hands make light work on their drought-hit farm. (ABC Rural: Faith Tabalujan)
Ms Mull said it was the first time they had welcomed volunteers to their farm — and it had boosted their spirits.
“I’ve been farming for four years, but my parents were here before me for 40 years and they never had external people on the farm,” she said.
“There’s often the thought you can do it better yourself or volunteers might not know exactly how you want things.
“But I very much think many hands make light work, so it’s great to have the volunteers here.”
More farmers wanted
Mr Miskimmin said while Rural Aid had no shortage of volunteers, finding farmers was often the first hurdle.
“As we know, farmers are a very proud bunch,” he said.
“Often I’ll call them and they’ll say they’re fine because there are other people worse off, or they’ll be sceptical once we arrive.
“But we often go there with one job and end up finishing four or five.
“You can see their whole demeanour change from one of scepticism to gratitude.”
These volunteers have travelled from Melbourne and Hervey Bay to help farmers in north-east Victoria. (ABC Rural: Faith Tabalujan)
Ms Mull agreed farmers could be tough nuts to crack, but hoped more would seek support during tough times.
“Farmers typically are not the best at sharing the load or saying we need help,” she said.
“So by having Rural Aid on our farm, we might encourage other farmers to also reach out in future.”
Mr Miskimmin said they hoped to connect with as many farmers as possible.
“We currently have 18,000 farmers around Australia registered with us, who we can help with hay, water, financial aid, and even mental health support,” he said.
“So if you’re a farmer, please register. Hopefully you won’t need us but, when you do, we’ll be there to lend a hand.”
