Local photographer Andrew Cooney captures devastating effects of drought to raise $ 50,000 for struggling farmers
Coast-wide fundraising campaign
Local photographer Andrew Cooney captures devastating effects of drought to raise $ 50,000 for struggling farmers
23-year-old Andrew Cooney has launched a Coast-wide fundraising campaign to raise $ 50,000 for Rural Aid’ s Buy a Bale campaign, after travelling to Central NSW and photographing the devastating impact of the worst drought in almost a century.
Right now, more than 99 % of NSW is in drought, or at the onset of drought, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. That’ s the hard truth that has inspired born-and-bred local photographer Andrew Cooney to drop everything and witness the damage himself.
For the Central Coast, the impact has been minimal so far, but for other parts of the state, the lack of rain throughout the past 12 months means paddocks have
How you can help
As national supplies dwindle, the rise of fodder is only getting higher, and it’ s costing farmers thousands of dollars to bring in hay from other parts of the country. Families are going without necessities in order to redirect every cent into keeping their livestock alive. dried out, and there’ s a critically low amount of hay for livestock. Farmers are being forced to choose between the crippling debts of bringing in feed from the other side of the country, or watch their cattle starve to death.
‘[ The drought ] starts in the Hunter Valley, just down the road, and that’ s the thing – the awareness isn’ t there, and we take what these farmers do for granted.’ said Cooney in a recent interview with Gawndy and Ash Pollard on 101.3 SeaFM.
Earlier in the month, Cooney travelled to Tamworth and surrounding regions to photograph farmers’ properties. The results speak for themselves.
‘ I ' m hoping that anyone who reads this can follow my short journey, share as much as possible, and please donate in any way you can.’ said Cooney, who plans to share plenty more photos and videos on his Facebook page Andrew Cooney Photography.
Make a donation at www. gofundme. com / for-our-aussiefarmers to go directly to Buy A Bale to purchase and deliver hay and other essentials for farmers around NSW.
Whether you can share $ 10 or $ 1,000, our farmers are relying on your generosity to keep their livelihoods going. A fundraising night is also being planned to help reach the $ 50,000 goal – if you or your business can assist in any way, please contact andrew @ andrewcooney. com. au.
42 KIDZ ON THE COAST