BlazeAid continues its work in fencing and recovery on farms in South West Victoria following the St Patrick’s Day fires.
BlazeAid president Kevin Butler said around 16 teams were working on up to 20 farms each day from its camps in Cobden and Terang.
“They are going hammer and tongs because we know that once July comes it gets cold and wet,” Butler said.
“We’ve got volunteers streaming in. There are about 50-70 every day working in the teams with local farmers,” he said.
The organisation was providing funds of between $500 and $1500 to farmers in the region with around $150,000 expected to be dispersed in the next couple of months.
Mr Butler said the fencing recovery was being hampered by lack of transport for 200,000 donated pine posts.
He said the posts were available on a property at Kenley between Swan Hill and Robinvale on the Murray River – but he couldn’t find anyone to move them to southern Victoria.
The dairy farmers in the region favour the use of pine posts for internal electric fencing because of the soil conditions and the longer lifespan of pine posts over steel in the south west.
“Dairy farmers urgently need the posts to complete the internal fencing that was lost in the fires,” he said.
The posts are steel strapped into bundles of 50 and there are forklifts to load them onto trucks – on weekdays only.
Mr Butler said there was good access for delivery of the posts. B-doubles could turn around and there are forks to unload.
He said BlazeAid would pay for the fuel – “all we need are the trucks”.
Dairy farmers urgently need the posts to complete the internal fencing that was lost in the fires
- Kevin Butler, BlazeAid
For more information or to volunteer call Blazeaid president Kevin Butler on 0418 530 471.