Struggling farmer enlists help from community with Adopt-a-Cow appeal

A New South Wales farming family struggling through the drought has reached out to the community, asking for people to adopt a cow or a calf in a bid to help the “family get through to spring”.

Country Valley Milk is a dairy farm located in Picton in the Sydney basin and has been in the Fairley family since 1855, but they say the situation has never been this bad.

“The time has come to swallow my pride and ask for help. The realisation that we will be fully feeding cows, all winter, has arrived, ” John Fairley wrote in a touching post on Facebook on Monday.

“Even if it rains next week and we get crops in, it will get cold and we will still have no feed.”

There is a factory on the property and about 300 acres of land that is farmed on, but the family said their creeks and dams are drying up and everything is brown.

“My 83 yr old Dad said he has never seen it worse than this,” Mr Fairley wrote.

John’s wife Sally Fairley told Yahoo7: “We normally get rain in March. We got good rain last March in 2017, we got a bit of rain in June (2017), and since then we’ve had almost nothing… just a little bit of rain in the beginning of February.”

Sally said it was incredibly difficult for her husband to open up online the way he has, but “he just realised it was what he had to do”.

The family is asking for people to help by adopting a cow, or donating funds.

“I have estimated that it will cost $1350 per cow to feed her until the end of September.

“And I have 130 cows to feed!

“This is by no means a minimum amount for adoption. I’m just trying to let you know the scale of my problem.”

He added: “Any amount, with enough people, will help.”

Those who do adopt a cow will receive a photo of it and can pick its name if they wish.

The farm will also be opening up to the public for tours as soon as possible.

“(It is a) good opportunity for them to see the cows being milked, the calves being fed and just to see what it is like,” Mrs Fairley explained.

There is farming land and a factory on the property – where they bottle their own milk, and make yoghurt and cream. They also buy from other local farmers as well.

John Fairley wrote online that the situation has been so dire he even considered shutting the dairy down, but said he just couldn’t bring himself to do that.

“We all grew up helping our dad’s and grandfathers on weekends and school holidays. The dairy is a part of who we are,” he wrote.

“I want my grandkids to help my son and maybe my daughter in the future.”

Mrs Fairley added: “John doesn’t believe that he owns the farm. He believes that it is a legacy that he hands onto the next generation.”

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The family has been overwhelmed by the response so far.

“People have been amazingly generous,”Mrs Fairley said.

“It’s very humbling.”

Anyone wishing to help can find out more information at the Country Valley Milk Facebook page.