Taranaki farmers send hay and silage to drought-stricken Hawke's Bay

Many of the bales are decorated with messages of support. Photo / Facebook.

Taranaki farmers are doing their bit to help out their farming counterparts in drought-stricken Hawke's Bay.

They are sending bales of hay and silage to the province, something which is urgently needed to help them get through the next few months, says Amanda Goble, who is organising the bale collection.

Amanda and her husband Bryn own and operate Goble Contracting in Taranaki, and their team have been driving all around Taranaki collecting bales donated by the region's farmers.

Amanda says the farmers in Hawke's Bay are in dire need of help.

Bare paddocks, hungry stock and limited supplementary feed has put farmers in Hawke's Bay under pressure. The challenges of the dry summer have been exacerbated by Covid-19 related issues such as reduced processing at meatworks and saleyard closures.

Amanda says she was contacted by one of their clients who was already organising a bale run to the Hawke's Bay.

"He got the first load of silage donated and down there and asked if we could help. "

Amanda and Bryn were keen to give their support and set out to get donations from farmers they knew.

"We set out to get about 40 bales, but it has just run away on us."

They currently have just under 300 bales she says.

"As soon as we put the message out there, we have been inundated with people contacting us to help. Some have donated one bale, others have given 20. Every bale is making a difference to farmers there."

Amanda says she thinks Taranaki farmers recognise that it could just as easily be them facing these hard times.

"You never know when it could happen here, so I think people have been happy to help where they can."

The team from Goble Contracting are donating their time and machinery in collecting the bales, and Sandfords Trucking is delivering the bales to Hawke's Bay at cost.

Amanda says she and Bryn are grateful to all the farmers who have donated the bales, as well as the staff working for her and Bryn.

"Without them it wouldn't be possible. They have just got on with it and gone out collecting the bales. One of our staff even told us not to pay him for any hours he did collecting the bales, that's the type of people we employ."