REPAIRING flood-damaged fences and preparing for drought, 28 Rural Aid volunteers are donating a week of their time in Singleton.
Singleton dairy farmer Jason Cousins is one of seven farmers across the Hunter Valley benefiting from the Rural Aid Farm Recovery Event this week.
"It means a lot to me to just have that bit of assistance to get jobs done. We've had so much on our plates, getting over the floods," he said.
"When you start getting emotional because of sad times, it slows you down."
The last 18 months have been tumultuous for Hunter farmers, enduring five floods over the space of nine months in 2022 and now drought declared as the region stares down the barrel of a hot, dry summer.
"It's takes years of courage, good luck, and hard work to get over knocks like that," Rural Aid CEO Jason Warlters said.
"Unfortunately, these farmers don't have years to recover. It's a difficult time for these producers, but as always, Rural Aid is standing with our mates in the bush as they face their next battle," he said.
The organisation has also coordinated water tank deliveries, counselling appointments and hay drops for local farmers.
"We're seeing huge local demand for our assistance measures like hay, water and counselling," Mr Warlters said.
"The Hunter is one of the driest farming regions in the country right now."
Eight Commonwealth Bank of Australia employees are part of the volunteer group lending a hand on-farm, including CBA regional NSW general manager Vanessa Nolan-Woods.
"We're proud to be able to contribute to the vital work Rural Aid is doing to support communities affected by natural disasters - whether that's delivering hay, support with groceries and bills, or counselling - Rural Aid is doing a lot to support farmers and we're proud to partner with them," she said.
The Singleton Farm Recovery Event runs from Monday, October 30 to Friday, November 3.
The Rural Aid volunteers are staying at the Singleton showgrounds, where dinner catering is provided by generous local organisations and charity groups.
