Upper Hunter Farmers Feeling the Pinch with No Rain In Sight

BY JESSICA ROUSE

It's dry.

Very dry in the Upper Hunter.

It's getting closer to winter as each week goes by and without barely a drop of rain for some time farmers are racing the clock to grow feed to last through the colder months.

Dairy farmers Brian and Debbie Parker live on a property just outside Denman and they're beginning to feel the pinch from a significant lack of rain.

They've been working the farm for 20 years now and currently have 200 head of Jersey and Illawarra cattle. The last time they suffered a really bad drought was in 2006-2007 and they fear it could get really bad again.

"It's very dry. We have not had any decent rain since Cyclone Debbie. We got a couple of inches then and that was March last year."

"We're having to search further afield all of the time to source hay, we'll be down in Victoria soon! We really want to get some decent rain before Autumn ends, that would be the end of May, that's when the feed just doesn't grow because its coming into winter so we've got to get rain before winter," said Brian Parker.

"As soon as we can grow it [feed] we are feeding it off. There is no surplus feed at all. Actually last week I had to buy in my first load of hay - there goes $12,000 for a b-double from Cowra."

That load of hay could be just the beginning, if no substantial rain comes Brian and his wife Debbie could be shelling out thousands of dollars every month for one b-double load, at least. That will add to an ever increasing power bill and pumping water through irrigation systems more and more.

Scone. Image www.scone.com.au

Some farmers in the Upper Hunter are questioning just how much the State Government are helping them.

In 2015, the government took drought declarations away replacing them with the NSW Drought Strategy. The drought declarations did trigger the release of some subsidies when it was in place including transport subsidies which is something farmers are really missing.

It's understood that now instead of being declared in a drought and assistance being triggered that way, farmers have to get in touch with Local Land Services for help, and if they don't then they won't know about it.

"As far as I knew we needed to be [drought declared], we've had no support tell us that we can actually access those things so I didn't even know anything about it to tell you the truth. And I'm totally unaware of any of that... I'm very unfamiliar with this new system," said Brian Parker.

"Back under the old system we got freight subsidies and that did really help, I don't even know if that is still available," and Brian said he has never had any contact from Local Land Services or the government at any level to tell him there are options available to him or even where to go to look for them.

"We're too busy looking after everything on the farm, and we just need some advice, even an email in laymens terms - something."

"I'm not one to ask for too much help, but just to be aware of what's out there, and if there is something that I see applicable I'd certainly look into it but I don't see anything that's out there."

Image nbnnews.com.au

In the end though, it goes beyond cattle and hay.

"You just can't control the weather I mean we're in an industry, farming, so we go with the weather and it's tough times now, very tough times, but all you've got to do is look after your mental health too," which Brian Parker says from experience, having had trouble a couple of years ago.

"It's the constant work and the stress of it all really and that's what takes its toll on you. And you just wonder when its going to rain next, you keep looking towards the sky."

Man Off to Court After Deliberately Lighting Fires in Denman

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Police have charged a man who they believe allegedly lit fires in Denman.

The man allegedly broke into a home on Paxton Street on Friday January 12, and the day after deliberately set fire to the property which destroyed the home.

It's also alleged the 22-year-old then deliberately lit a fire on Martindale Street on Sunday January 14. He didn't stop there, he then allegedly lit a second grassfire on Kenilworth Street on Monday January 15.

The three consecutive nights of fires put locals on edge, particularly because it is peak fire season and there has been little rain in the area.

Following investigations detectives from the Hunter Valley Police District attended a unit on Paxton Street, arresting the 22-year-old.

He was taken to Muswellbrook Police Station where he was refused bail and charged with break & enter house and steal, break & enter house and destroy property, two counts of intentionally cause fire and be reckless as to its spread, and damage property by fire.

He faces Scone Local Court today.

Investigations are continuing and anyone with any information which could assist police with their inquiries is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Fire Crews Busy on Hunter Blazes

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

UPDATE: 2:15pm

The fire at Main Creek Dungog has been downgraded back to ADVICE.

Crews are working to keep the blaze within containment lines.

UPDATE: 2pm

RFS crews are attending to a fire at Main Creek Dungog which is currently at WATCH and ACT level.

It's burnt through around 14 hectares on Main Creek Road and is yet to be controlled.

Fire crews are on the ground trying to control the blaze as there are isolated properties in the area.

James Morrison from the RFS says at this stage no properties are directly under threat, but the situation could change in an instant - if you live along Killarney Road or Skimmings Gap Road the advice is to implement your bush fire survival plan now.

Meanwhile,

There is still a small bushfire on Old Maitland Road at Abermain and another on the Abermain Fire Trail which has burnt through around 2 hectares.

EARLIER:

Firefighters are working to contain a number of bush fires across the Hunter.

RFS crews have been called to a 1 hectare fire on Old Maitland Road at Abermain.

Water bombers have been called in to assist with a 14 hectare fire at MAIN CREEK north east of Dungog and another 14 hectare blaze at Chichester Dam.

And, a fire on the Golden Highway at Denman is now under control after burning through 5 hectares.

Bylong coal mine project could devastate Hunter environment

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Plans for the new Bylong Coal Project between Denman and Mudgee have been dealt yet another blow with the Planning Assessment Commission (PCA) slamming the project.

The PAC report on the KEPCO coal mine project slammed it for gaps in evidence and high levels of uncertainty, particularly about the potential cumulative impacts on the Bylong Valley and the community. The report also flagged numerous issues with water access, protection of surrounding agriculture and incomplete information.

There are particular concerns for the Hunter Valley from the Lock the Gate Alliance who say the scathing review revealed the Bylong coal project would directly open cut rich farmland in the Hunter and severely impact Tarwyn Park.

NSW Greens energy and resources spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham says the mine will destroy ecologically and environmentally important areas throughout the Hunter and the state.

"The area must be protected for its agriculture and tourism value plus its environmental values in an age of climate change the greens do not believe we should be opening up new coal mines in NSW."

If approved the mine will extract a total of 124 million tonnes, roughly 6.5 million each year, from both open cut operations and underground. Jeremy Buckingham is urging the government to reconsider the mine and realise just how much it will wreck the Bylong Valley, its community and the surrounds.

"The Bylong Valley must be protected, it's important, ecological,, agricultural, and our tourism assets will be destroyed by this stupid coal mine. We have major climate change and we do not need to be opening coal mines, the Greens are calling on the government to cancel their exploration licence  and give the people, the Bylong Valley and NSW certainty that that region will be protected from destructive coal mining."

Investigations into Denman car accident

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Hunter Valley police are investigating a crash near Denman over the weekend which left five people injured.

A Suzuki Vitara rolled on Bylong Valley Way early yesterday morning near the intersection of Mount Dangar Road throwing three people out of the tray in the back of the vehicle.

Two of the three, both 16-year-old girls, were seriously injured and airlifted to John Hunter Hospital, while the driver and passenger were treated for minor injuries.

The driver, a 17-year-old male, was breath tested at the scene and returned a negative result.

Boy Hit By Car At Denman

BY IAN CROUCH

 Police are appealing for witnesses after a 15-year-old boy was hit by a car at Denman last night.

The accident happened at the intersection of Virginia and Ogilvie Streets at 5.40pm.

The Hunter's Westpac Rescue Helicopter flew the boy to the John Hunter Hospital in a serious but stable condition with abrasions and a collapsed lung.

Police breath tested the 37-year-old male driver from Muswellbrook at the scene - he returned a negative result.

Investigations are continuing and anyone who witnessed the accident is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

End of bush fire season

The Hunter Valley Rural Fire Service is celebrating the end of a hectic bush fire season today

The end of the 2013-2014 season means permits are no longer required to do any burning in the open however residents of Singleton, Branxton, Musswellbrook and Denman still require permits from Fire and Rescue NSW

Super Intendant Paul Jones, from the Hunter Valley RFS says the Hunter Valley has a longer bush fire season than other parts of NSW

"Conditions were drier and we also had a number of lightening storms go trough the area that created fires in remote areas that required substantial effort to contain, so yeah, a bit busier than normal but we expect that in the Hunter Valley it's a very fire prone area."

Super Intendant Jones warns that residents still need to be wary, "they should be using the cooler weather and the more moister weather to make sure that their properties are well prepared, manage their assets protection zones around their assets, do any required burning off that they need to do, the RFS is more than happy to assist with that".