GRAHAM Harris, better known as 'Rocket', is one of those people who is referred to so much by his nickname that it's likely many people don't even know his real name.
In fact it's such a rare occasion that he is called Graham - even his wife Alanna rarely says it - that he has to think twice when someone refers to him as Graham.
The nickname came from his shearing days in his late teens and 20s, which he did for 11 years in the farming off-season.
"I guess it just came about because people thought I've got a bit of a quick wit and it has just stuck since then and now everyone calls me Rocket," he said.
There's a joke around the local community that during the Scaddan fires in 2015, firefighters from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) were trying to contact Rocket on the two-way but he couldn't hear them properly so wasn't responding when they were calling and referring to him as Graham.
"I thought I was talking to the Salmon Gums captain and because they were calling me Graham, I thought they had it wrong so I kept saying I was Rocket," he said.
"Then eventually they called me Rocket and I responded.
"So now it's a bit of a joke among the community but at the time it was a bit serious."
As the name suggests, Rocket was always ready to fire some banter over the two-way during the recent Farmers Across Borders Meekatharra Hay Run convoy from Esperance to Meekatharra.
But behind all the jokes, Rocket said he learnt from a young age the impact that drought can have on farmers.
"When I was a kid my parents had droughts and I think because I was so young, I didn't really appreciate it and now I see these guys going through what my parents did," he said.
"So we wanted to help out others that weren't doing as well as the rest of us.
"We're all farmers and we're all in the same boat."
This recent hay run was the couple's third with Farmers Across Borders as they joined the crew on both trips last year.
Their son Nick, 15, came along for the trip and also went on the hay run to the east last year.
"We found meeting the pastoralists to be very uplifting and emotional," Rocket said.
"We realised how tough they are doing it and supporting their mental wellbeing is another reason we wanted to do it.
"If we can rock up with a few bales of hay to keep stock and farmers alive, it is a good feeling and it's important."
Alanna said it was important to inject some positivity to the regions enduring hard times.
"People out there want to hear good news in these tough times and hopefully we can do a bit of that for them," Alanna said.
After the Scaddan fires, which devastated the region and community, mainly brought on by four fatalities, the Harris family lost some land and received some of the generosity and support that country communities are so well-known for.
"The amount of help that came from outside the region was amazing," Rocket said.
"And the care packages with little notes from kids was one of the things that put a knot in my throat.
"So now we want to help others in need like how people helped us back then."
Rocket and Alanna's operation includes a 4000 hectare property, of which 90 per cent is cropping and 10pc sheep with 900 Merino breeders.
The farm was hit with a lack of rain and frost in 2019.
"The dry conditions affected us more than the frost last year," he said.
"But we had had a few average or better years recently so we were bound to get an untidy one soon."
They received about 150 millimetres of rainfall in 2019, with 130mm falling in the growing season.
In a normal year, the property would get about 350-40mm, with about 100mm being in January/February which would give them good sub-soil moisture.
Rocket said the property was quite dry over the summer, with 15mm and a couple bouts of 3mm falling in the past couple of months.
"We have been declared 'water deficient' so we have had to cart water," he said.
"Luckily I had a bit of foresight with the dry conditions so I bought a tanker in August which was good because now you can't get them anywhere, so that has really helped us."
But even with the current challenges of dry conditions and being prone to frost, Rocket and Alanna were still in high spirits throughout the run and had a positive outlook on the industry.
Rocket said he liked that he didn't feel any competition within farming and people helped one another out, as exhibited on the hay run.
"The good thing about farming is if you get onto a good idea, you share it with others because we are not in competition with one another," he said.
"Whether my neighbour's crop grows well or not is not going to impact my crop."
