IT seems like farmers have finally received a small win from the government with an announcement on Tuesday that $300 million would be used for a drought package to help those farmers already doing it tough on the land.
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Both the NSW Farmers and National Farmers' Federation have welcomed the funding, saying they were happy with the wide range of farmers it would cover.
The funds aren't only for low-interest loans, though that is what the majority of the package ($250 million) will go towards.
The rest of the funds will go towards scholarships to train our farmers to better prepare them for future droughts, and a tiny $5 million across five years will be used to provide transport assistance for animal welfare and donated fodder within the state.
While no farmer will look down on the funding they are being given, with things the way they are they will gratefully receive any assistance they can get, we have to wonder if this is the best thing $300 million can be put towards and how farmers will feel about the announcement.
We do question if this money will be enough, or do farmers need more to sustain themselves in the long run? It's great to see the scholarships for more education included in there to help this along. And we are especially pleased to see that both NSW Farmers and the National Farmers' Federation will continue talking to the government about what more needs to be done.
