FARMERS Across Borders - Hay From WA has delivered its 78th road train this year to support drought affected farmers across the country.
The mammoth effort of the not-for-profit group of farmers and truckies this year totalled more than 8400 bales of hay.
The final load of donated hay was delivered recently to drought-stricken farmers at Silverton, near Broken Hill, New South Wales.
Farmers Across Borders representatives Graeme and Jenny Perks from Grass Patch Farming, Esperance, were at the Newdegate Machinery Field Days two weeks ago sharing a site with Mobile Hay Stackers, Beverley, to promote the cause and gather support.
Ms Perks said Farmers Across Borders had achieved great things since Esperance farmers Sam Starcevich and Anne Bell came together in 2014 and founded the group.
Despite the success she said there were concerns about next year where they would source enough hay from within WA to meet the demand that will exist if the drought continued in the Eastern States and also in the pastoral regions of WA.
WA has also been hit by a lack of rainfall and Farmers Across Borders had stepped up to help with a trip by 10 triple road trains carrying 1200 bales of feed to graziers in the Murchison region in March.
Water deficiency was declared for the Mallee Hill area in the Shire of Lake Grace and the Hollands Rock area in the Shire of Kent and hay has been delivered to some farmers in these areas as well.
"Water is still a huge problem," Ms Perks said.
"In Esperance we have had no water and have had to cart water in for the first time this year.
"If there's no hay we will be unable to give any, and then where will we get it from next year?"
Ms Perks said hay could possibly be imported to assist in drought areas but that would see a high risk of weeds and biosecurity issues.
Ms Starcevich said her farm had been hit by frost recently with 70 per cent damage to their crops, with 800ha of canola wiped out - which they would have to turn into hay.
She said there would be access to a lot of frosted crops next year but farmers who had lost money on their cereals would want to get something in return for their hay to reclaim some of the costs.
"We really need to attract some generous sponsors and donors to be able to afford to continue to assist drought affected farmers next year," Ms Starcevich said.
She said on Australia Day 2019, 47 road trains made the trip across the country from WA to Cobar, NSW, delivering more than 3000 bales of feed to drought affected farmers.
The fuel cost added up to about $1 million and was 50pc subsidised by the NSW Government.
Ms Starcevich said the cost of transporting the hay was more than just the fuel for truckies, but also fuel for tractors and cutters, baling twine and other associated costs.
"We used 340km in baling twine this year," she said.
"Most of that was donated."