Generational farmers in the Hunter Valley say they'll be worse off after going through a land acquisition process with the New South Wales government for the construction of the Singleton bypass.
The NSW government will start work on the $700 million New England highway upgrade next year.
Vegetable grower Chris McNamara is one of 44 private landholders having properties compulsorily acquired.
"I'm not really looking forward to it because we've got nowhere to go," he said.
"So practically in four months, we're finished. So they'll put us out of business."
Mr McNamara and his parents have been growing vegetables on the farm for 40 years, supplying local cafes and bakeries and selling at their roadside stall in Singleton.
He says he is not being offered enough compensation from Transport for NSW (TfNSW) that will allow him to find a similar property and restart his business.
"All we are asking is for is a fair deal so we can move on," he said.
"With the offer we've received, we would have to actually borrow money to go to another farm and set up and do what we're doing here now. And I don't feel that's right."
'The Singleton shuffle'
The Hunter Valley mining town is notorious for bottlenecks and slow-moving afternoon traffic known as "the Singleton shuffle".
About 26,000 vehicles, including more than 3,000 heavy vehicles, rumble through the middle of town each day.
"If they'd done it [the bypass] about 60 years ago, it'd be more common sense. We're 60 years behind time," said local farmer Maurice Butler.
Mr Butler and his wife Clare are retirees with beef cattle on a property on the highway where the turn-off will be built.
"It's really upsetting. Every night you go to bed, you stop and think about it. Where am I gonna be next week?" Ms Butler said.
The couple were initially told only part of the property would be acquired. They have now been told they will lose their entire property, requiring the Butlers to find somewhere else to live.
"We have … land … a house, sheds and everything, tractors, machinery, cattle, and we can irrigate the whole farm," Mr Butler said.
"A house and land package, with land like this, comes up once every blue moon. We'll never find another place as good as this one around Singleton."
TfNSW says it's committed to negotiating agreed compensation wherever possible, and it empathises with landholders affected by property acquisitions.
It says its project team began meeting property owners in 2016 when the preferred corridor was announced.
TfNSW says when negotiations fail, it uses land valuations supplied by the Valuer-General, which is independent from their department, and there are further options if the landholders don't agree with their assessment.
It says the final compensation includes payments for the value of the land and for businesses, interest, legal costs, valuation fees, relocation expenses, stamp duty and mortgage re-establishment costs.
But in August, the NSW parliament released findings from a parliamentary inquiry into land acquisition.
It found it was common practice for landholders affected by compulsory acquisition to be given repeated lowball offers for their land.
It recommended urgent changes to provide compensation so residents could buy back into the community and for the state government to consider offering retrospective compensation to landholders.
The NSW government is due to respond to the findings in November.
TfNSW demands rent on occupied farms
Some landholders have also been sent letters by Transport for NSW, informing them they will be charged rent on their properties backdated until July 15.
"They're bully tactics what they're using now," Ms Butler said.
Their friend and local businessman Dale McNamara said he had not been able to get compensation for specially built racehorse stables that would be dismantled.
"Nobody is out there wanting anything ridiculous," he said.
"And a man like Mr Butler, who's 79, wants to have his farm or be able to go and buy another farm.
"We're not fools up here in the Hunter. We know what things are worth.
"Why do they think they can come up here and say, 'I'm gonna take your farm and this is the price and, by the way, now you're gonna pay rent?'
"And they're gonna give you not even half of what it's worth. Where are they coming from? It's not Australian."
TfNSW can demand rent on land that's been compulsorily acquired under the NSW 1991 Land Acquisition Act.
The rule comes into effect three months after acquisition on properties that don't need to be immediately vacated and are the primary residence for the owner.
TfNSW says the rent payment can be offset against the final compensation. It says interest accrues on the properties after they have been gazetted, which is similar to or greater than the rent charged.
Farmers likely to lose their livelihoods
Bec Hatch says when a transport official first came to examine their property, she explained how her family grew lucerne and her husband was planning to use the large shed to set up a mechanics business.
"He said, 'We don't care about your business'. They were his exact words to us," she said.
"I can't believe that they can take people's money from them, their income, their job and not be paid for it."
Ms Hatch says the acquisition process has been "two years of hell" and she is also not happy with the offers she's been given.
"Initially they gave us a really, really bad offer. I'm talking, it was about $800,000 off what our valuer said it was worth.
"They're lowballing, and I know it's a tactic," she said.
"They shouldn't be trying to get this property for less than what it's worth. I think that's totally wrong.
"If I have to stand in front of their equipment, I will. They haven't given us a cent."
Landholders deserve 'fair price', says Singleton mayor
Some farmers, such as Elaine Brown and her husband John, will have their property cut in half.
"John's grandfather had this property. It's been in the family for well over a hundred years," said Ms Brown, who breeds cattle, spells racehorses and grows lucerne.
Ms Brown says the state government offered a "pittance" compared to a figure determined by an independent valuer.
"They have no care about that. None whatsoever.
"All they're concerned about is getting the bypass through as cheap as possible."
Ms Brown says she has had to negotiate for a new irrigation system and the bypass will change the way they use the land.
Singleton Mayor Sue Moore says the council supports the bypass and the chosen route but says the farmers deserve better.
"I know a lot of people in town think these people are being well looked after. They've got no idea the way they're being treated," she said.
"It's a $700 million bypass. Surely they can, you know, give a fair price for the dislocation these people are going to have from their land."
Upper Hunter MP Dave Layzell was elected during last year's state by-election when money was pledged towards the Singleton bypass.
He's called on the government to review the acquisition process with the Singleton bypass.
Mr Layzell made a members statement in July, he urged the government to consider "the way that we deal with the acquisition of people's land and the disruption to people's lives".
Transport officials accused of trespassing
Bec Hatch has accused transport officials of trespassing on her property on Tuesday, July 26.
"We got a letter and quite a nasty email on Monday [July 25] stating that they were going to force their way on our property from August 28 to September 9," she said.
"The next day, we found them trespassing on our property. Surveyors were trespassing on our property."
TfNSW denies any employees trespassed on the property on July 26, saying it had confirmed with its team members that none of them were.
It says it has, on several occasions, requested access to these properties to complete investigations for the planning of the bypass and the owners have continued to deny entry.
TfNSW says it has respected those decisions and says the property acquisition process will not impact the timing for the start of construction, with major work on the bypass due to start early next year.
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