Farmers Across Borders Australia Day hay run ready to bring relief to WA families

More than 20 trucks are headed for Esperance to fill their trailers with hay ahead of an Australia Day mercy run to help struggling WA farmers and pastoralists.

The Farmers Across Borders convoy will leave Esperance on Saturday morning, headed for Meekatharra, where bales of hay will be unloaded for drought-stricken areas, from the Murchison to the Wheatbelt.

Having helped the east coast in previous years, FAB president Sam Starcevich said her home State needed the support this year.

“Having support from other people in different regions, who really understand the hardship, can make all the difference to your state of mind,” she said.

“I was talking to one station owner the other day whose neighbour had over 200mm and he only recorded 14mm, but even if they did receive rain they still require the feed for a while.

“A lot of us are farmers or truck drivers, so with harvest and Christmas, Australia Day just works. It just shows that solidarity and supporting each other.”

Dust Off Depression will host an Australia Day party at Meekatharra’s Commercial Hotel to welcome the convoy.

Hay retrieval points include Kumarina, Meekatharra, Wiluna, Cue, Mt Magnet, Paynes Find, Leinster, Leonora, Laverton and Gascoyne Junction.

Members of the public can wave the trucks off from Esperance’s Six Mile Hill at 7am on January 25.

The convoy is expected to pass by Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Goldfields Highway about noon.