Taranaki feed drive attracting plenty of donations

Federated Farmers is delighted at the response it has received since launching its Taranaki Feed Drive last week.
Taranaki Provincial President Donald McIntyre says the initiative has attracted plenty of interest from throughout the country with the New Plymouth office busy handling donations.
"We’ve been overwhelmed by the offers we’ve received. Our province was hit hard this summer with the ‘drought like’ conditions first and then we were served another big blow, literally, from the Gita storm.
"It’s left many farmers very stressed and really struggling because they have a severe lack of feed," says Donald.
Farmers from around the country were invited to donate towards feed and transport costs. All donations were being allocated to Taranaki farmers by a committee appointed by the local Federation.
The Taranaki office is taking offers via the Federation’s website. You can also register offers by calling 06 757 3423. Otherwise, non-donation offers of feed are accepted and listed online.
Donald believes Taranaki farmers’ generosity over the years has come to the fore in their hour of need and now they are having that goodwill returned.
"It really gives you a special feeling when you see our fellow farmers from around the country coming to our aid. We appreciate the support shown and the donations we’ve received; this shows Taranaki farmers are very well respected.
"We’re a proud bunch us Taranaki farmers, but we shouldn’t be too proud to accept the generosity and goodwill of other farmers, this is a great initiative and we should look at the bigger picture."
To avoid a flurry of requests taking up all immediate offers of feed, the application period for acquiring feed has been set to expire on Friday, March 16.
"We want to create fairness in how applications are handled and donations are distributed. As with previous Federated Farmers feedlines, we will assess all offers carefully and match them in the best possible way," says Donald.
Federated Farmers has also opened its Adverse Events Fund for charity donations and thanks strategic partner FMG for its contribution of $5000.