Mount Torrens dairy farmers Rodney Herrmann and Ben Wilhelm are calling on the SA government to provide more support for farmers affected by drought conditions.
SA Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia said the current support packages available for farmers were not enough.
What’s next?
A fourth water collection point will open at McLaren Vale on Wednesday, and the government is considering further drought support.
Fifth-generation dairy farmer Rodney Hermann has seen his fair share of drought conditions but says the current lack of rain has left him in a “more serious position” than other years.
“We are battling on,” he said.
But he said that was not a long-term solution.
“If it wasn’t for that neighbour, very generous neighbour, we’d be in big trouble … we’d probably have to shut the shop,” he said.
His Mount Torrens property endured dry years in 1982, 2015 and 2020.
It normally receives about 650mm of rain annually, but in 2024 recorded about 390mm, most of which fell between June and August.
There has been little rain since October.
Rodney Herrmann has about 150 milking cows on his Mount Torrens farm. (ABC News)
Mr Herrmann said another property he had nearby had only about three weeks of water left.
He said some days “you wonder whether it’s really worth it”.
“There are many other farmers who are battling through some of the toughest times I can remember,”
he said.
Mr Herrmann sharefarms with 31-year-old Ben Wilhelm, who has been working on the property with Mr Herrmann since his mid-teens.
He said the lack of rain and added costs of coping with the drought were tough.
“To get a year like this and last year is a bit of a kick in the guts,” he said.
“You’re making a loss every day. It could take years to catch up. My hours are a charity I suppose.”
“I’ve always wanted to milk cows and I’m milking cows but … how long will that last, I don’t know.”
The men called on the state government to provide more help for farmers, including interest-free or low-interest loans to help with the cost of bringing in feed and water.
They said mental health support was also needed.
Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia says the SA government must do more to help farmers battling drought conditions. (ABC News)
At a press conference with the dairy farmers, SA Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia said the state Labor government must do more to support South Australian farmers.
“There are farmers right across the state who have been calling for relief for months,” Mr Tarzia said.
“They need water, they need feed, they need support and they need it now.
“There are people that are struggling right across the state.”
He said some SA farmers had been enduring drought-like conditions for six months, and the government’s $18 million drought support package was a “drop in the ocean” of what was needed.
He said farmers who were making claims were waiting weeks for them to be processed.
Mr Tarzia said some farmers had described the current dry spell as “the worst conditions that they’ve seen for some 40 years”.
“In some parts of the state they’re saying it’s the worst that they’ve even heard of in 100 years,” he said.
The lack of rain in parts of South Australia has put significant pressure on water-carting businesses servicing the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu regions, with one water carter telling the ABC in February it has doubled its daily deliveries since 2024.
Some Fleurieu residents have also reported that the lack of rainfall has forced them to cart water for the first time in 30 years.
Dams are drying up in the Adelaide Hills and other parts of SA. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
Livestock SA chief executive Travis Tobin last week said areas which usually had reliably high rainfall, such as Kangaroo Island and the Barossa Valley, were also feeling the impacts.
He said this would mean some farmers were forced to make difficult decisions about holding stock or potentially selling animals that were not yet in prime condition.
Last week, the state government announced three water collection points in the Adelaide Hills communities of Woodside, Sandergrove and Brukunga, while some residents waiting for water-carting deliveries would be waiting weeks, or months, for deliveries due to demand.
A fourth collection point, at Field Street, McLaren Vale, will open on Wednesday.
At the time, Environment Minister Susan Close said the demand for water-carting services in the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu regions “significantly exceed[ed] supply”, putting some off-grid households “at risk” of running out of water.
Since then, the state government says four extra businesses have received a water-carting licence to provide safe drinking water to customers in the state to help ease the pressure on those not on mains services.
Clare Scriven says the state government has moved quickly to provide help to drought-affected farming communities. (ABC News)
In a statement, Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Clare Scriven said drought-relief packages were available for affected farmers, and that the government had “moved quickly to provide assistance to farming communities”.
“The Malinauskas Government’s comprehensive Drought Support Package includes community grants, rebates for on-farm infrastructure, donated fodder transport subsidies and mental health support — measures put in place in response to what industry has been calling for most,” she said.
“As part of this package, the $5 million On-farm Drought Infrastructure Rebate Scheme has received a high volume of applications since opening in December — with the scheme’s team doubled to assist in the assessment process.”
Ms Scriven said there were five charitable organisations participating in targeted hay runs across the state, while councils also had their own financial hardship policies.
“Ratepayers need to contact their local council directly if they wish to submit a relevant application,” she said.
“The state government continues to monitor the situation and will consider providing further drought support where appropriate.”
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