Farmers in drought say rate relief is only option

The feeling of helplessness is all too familiar for the Gippsland beef producer who says low rainfall and high living costs are crippling "ordinary farmers" like him.

Like many producers in drought areas, Mr Waite is struggling to stay afloat.

He says rates bills have "skyrocketed" in recent years, costing him and his father, Bill Waite, $10,000 annually.

"I think we're at the point where a lot of farmers are going to start moving off their land; they've got no hay, no stock and no income and they have to pay their rates which they get nothing for," Bill Waite, who's lived on the property his entire life, said.

The Waite's 290-hectare farm is located on the border of the Wellington Shire, one of three Victorian municipalities to receive a share of $5.4 million from the state government's $31 million drought package announced last month.

Wellington, which received $3.3 million from the package, along with East Gippsland Shire Council ($1.51 million) will vote on how to spend the drought funding at ordinary council meetings in November.

Both councils have indicated to Stock & Land they are considering using the money to subsidise farm rates in their respective municipalities.

Mildura Council received $700,000 in funding, too.

"You don't want to get up in the mornings because usually you'll go down and find cattle stuck in your dams and they're sort of starving for a feed," Tim Waite, a fourth generation Glengarry East farmer, said.

"Any sort of rate relief will make a massive difference because the money that will free up, to buy fodder or put new grass in to feed cattle, would go a long way."

According to Wellington Shire Council, if rate relief is approved it would cover about 30 per cent of the council's $10.5 million farm rate bill for 2019/20.

"It's our livelihood," Mr Waite said.

"You have to go and shoot your livelihood and if people could come and see that I think they would have a different perspective on it ... what us farmers have to go through on a daily basis."

The Waites run about 400 head of Angus on their property at Glengarry East and sew cereal crops for personal use, however, low rainfall and the cost of fuel has made the exercise a costly operation.

Last year their fuel bill was more than $25,000.

"It's not so bad when you have a good year and you have plenty of tucker to feed your cattle but at the moment it's tough going to try and find that money," Mr Waite said.

"We want them [Wellington Shire Council] to show a bit of compassion and it would really help us out ... to look after the genuine farmer and keep them on the land."

Mr Waite said he was keen to see the farm rate relief cover the "genuine family farms" as opposed to hobby farms in the region who relied on secondary incomes to pay for expenses like rates.

Wellington mayor Alan Hall said council would vote on how to spend the $3.3 million on Wednesday.

"There is a very high expectation that this will be applied directly to rate relief but the exact mechanics for that we're working through at the moment," he said.

In a statement, a council spokeswoman said if rate relief was approved each farm rate assessment would be credited with an amount representing 30 per cent of the general farm rate charged.

"If a farmer has already paid; council will contact the ratepayer to arrange a refund or take instructions to adjust future rate instalments and or adjust existing payment arrangements," the statement read.

Independent member for Morwell Russell Northe, whose seat takes in Glengarry East, echoed Mr Hall's sentiment and said rate relief was on top of farmers' agendas.

"I ask farmers if there's one thing that I can advocate for and almost all say rate relief," Mr Northe said.

"It's been a sincerely tough conversation and the reality is there's so many individuals struggling from a financial and mental health perspective.

"Unfortunately there's not one easy solution to what is a prolonged and complex issue but hopefully farmers know they have the support of their community leaders and the community more generally."