We had 2000 merino sheep and 600 cattle on our farm in Bundella, NSW, but, after months without rain, we were in real trouble.
The feed we’d saved up quickly dwindled and with every inch of NSW in drought, there was nowhere for us to buy more.
Every farmer in the state was as desperate as we were.
We knew it would be impossible to continue feeding all of our herd so we had a tough decision to make.
We could either keep them on the farm and they may end up wasting away or eventually be put down by Martin, or we could sell them and their unborn calves to an abattoir.I fought back tears looking out at the cattle we’d raised for years.
We still don’t know when this drought will end, but Martin and I know we’ll pull through.
I felt frazzled as I phoned my friend, desperately searching for feed for my cattle.
Without grass and plants for our livestock to graze on, we had no choice but to buy in feed from across Australia.
It broke my heart watching the 170 youngsters being taken off early.
We can’t go on like this forever, but we’ll keep fighting to save our land as long as we can.