HAWKESBURY farmers showed up with their utes and trailers at McGraths Hill this week, ready and eager to load up cheap silage rolls.
The rolls are being sold at cost by Hawkesbury City Council as part of a drought assistance effort.
Lucerne silage rolls are being sold for $48 each; these are being produced at council’s McGraths Hill Waste Management Facility using recycled water.
“This initiative aims to help farmers get cheaper fodder for their starving livestock,” said Hawkesbury Mayor Barry Calvert.
Council will subsidise the cost of the silage up to $30,000. It will also donate all funds raised from any additional financial contributions, including money donated by Council staff and from the community at Council events, to Buy a Bale.
“Buy a Bale has assured Council that all money raised in the Hawkesbury will be directed back to our local farmers,” Councillor Calvert said.
There is a donation box for Buy a Bale at Council’s Administration Building, 366 George Street, Windsor. Local farmers are encouraged to sign up to the Buy a Bale program so they are eligible to receive hands-on, financial and emotional support.
To be eligible to receive silage rolls from future cuts, Hawkesbury farmers are required to complete an Expression of Interest on Council’s website at www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/home/home-slideshow/baling-
for-farmers/baling-for-farmers to buy silage rolls.
To be eligible farmers must be a local Hawkesbury farmer who owns or works a property in the Hawkesbury Local Government Area, registered with the Australian Taxation Office as a primary producer, committed to using the silage rolls for Hawkesbury stock and not on-selling to a third party, responsible for collecting the silage rolls from the McGraths Hills Treatment Plant using own transport, and available to pick up the silage rolls during the nominated time period.
Farmers are encouraged to consult with a vet to ensure the suitability of the silage for their livestock.