Drought-affected farmers in Gippsland received an early Christmas present when approximately 300 hay bales were donated as part of a joint initiative between Fulton Hogan, Regional Roads Victoria and Engie.

“With a shortage of hay and fodder in the marketplace due to drought conditions, we identified an opportunity to strip a suitable roadside grass area from the Strzelecki Highway and turn it into stock feed,” said Michael Flegg, Eastern Region Maintenance Alliance Program Manager.

“Eastern Region Maintenance Alliance is a partnership between Regional Roads Victoria and Fulton Hogan that delivers maintenance services to the 3,500kms of arterial roads in Gippsland. Through the great work of our maintenance teams who were looking to cut grass in preparation for fire season, we saw an opportunity to collect the grass and transport it to those in need.”

A convoy of 10 trucks, loaded with the 300 bales made their way from Brodribb Road at Morwell to a storage facility in Longford, which has since been distributed by the Victorian Farmers Federation to 27 farmers across the region doing it tough.

“This initiative has been well supported in the community, with the transport of the bales also donated by local contractors. I would like to extend a special thanks to Tony Rosato, Fowlers Asphalting, McNeil Contracting, A1 Asphalting and Fulton Hogan who have generously donated trucks and staff to help with this worthy cause,” Michael said.

“It’s been a tough year for local farmers. This is a small gesture that highlights their plight and will hopefully provide some short-term relief.”