Drought Relief Fund

Drought Relief Fund

Project 2020-05-20 11:51:51 +1200

There are parts of the country that have been dealing with devastating drought over the past few months, and while the rain may not be far away, the effects will be ongoing and have been heart breaking for many. Coupled with COVID-19 restrictions the pressure farmers are under to manage feed levels and ensure their stock are in good condition to get through winter is leaving many in a desperate state.

 The Ballance East Coast Regional Sales team have seen first-hand the depths of despair being experienced by members of our community and we want to do something for farmers’ throughout NZ.

 After a brainstorming session, we decided to host a free virtual comedy night titled the Online Drought Shout, two Facebook competitions to win travel prizes and fundraising to create a fund to help get farmers to a resilience workshop facilitated by Doug Avery, The Resilient Farmer.

 The resilience workshops with Doug Avery is what this pledge will help us achieve.

 We feel passionate about New Zealand’s agricultural sector and want to raise awareness for our farmers. We also want to arm them with tools they can take forward to face challenges in their lives and come out the other side of any challenge with positivity and belief that they will prevail, the rain will come, and they, their animals and their families will be okay.

We know farmers are pouring everything they have into their properties at the moment financially, physically and mentally. They are not focussed on-off farm activities regardless of the benefits. This could be your way of helping us help them.  

More about the Online Drought Shout

We wanted to do something meaningful for farmers that gave them a break from their day-to-day challenges - laughter is such good medicine.

The purpose of the event, competitions and fundraising is to raise awareness of the impact of a drought on farmers, their families and their animals, and that people can enjoy a good laugh.

The Online Drought shout Event - Tuesday, 26 May at 7.30pm Hosted by Te Radar as a special edition of Sarah’s Country, features Paul Ego, Justine Smith and Gary McCormick. Live streamed across multiple social media platforms including Ballance’s Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/events/666134843950885

We have had support from Farm Source, Super Air, Farmlands, PGG Wrightsons and Seales Winslow.

The more people that tune into the Online Drought shout and get behind the fundraising, the more we can improve the understanding of the impacts of drought, rural mental health issues and demonstrate our collective support for the rural sector in NZ.

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