Farmers struggling to feed their livestock due to the dry have been given a reprieve this week, with another hay run taken to the Mid North of the state.
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Facilitated by Rural Aid, Friday's drop at Bruce was the eighth undertaken since May, delivering 538 bales in total.
Areas to receive the drops included Quorn, Wilmington, Peterborough and Murbko, north of Blanchetown.
Rural Aid consellor Dorothy Crosby, who is based in Quorn, said her district had been so dry that they put the call out to sheep and cattle farmers to see who might need fodder support.
"It is hard for farmers to put their hand up for help, but that's how tough it has been," she said.
"We have had some rain, but it has been very patchy, ranging between 1mm to 19mm.
"In the Wilmington/Peterborough area, it is still dry as a bone.
"Plus it has been hard to source hay. Normally, we get a supply from Lock on the EP, but they had run out, so we were lucky that the Lines family in Laura were able to make this hay available.
"Hopefully this can help tide farmers over until more rain comes and pastures get going."
Noel Fraser, Bruce, was a recent hay drop recipient, to help feed his sheep and cattle.
He said in his 60-plus years of farming, he has never seen it this dry so late in the season.
"We've had our lowest rainfall ever at this time of year," he said.
"The past two years haven't been great.
"We had no spring last year, which meant that there was no hay cut in the district, or even in a lot of South Australia.
"While the year before that, there was so much hay that did get cut but got spoiled because it was a record wet year."
The Frasers also have a property at Coober Pedy, where it is equally as dry.
"We have had to cut our numbers right back, to just feeding our breeders," he said.
Mr Fraser said they knew about Rural Aid support as they were a recipient of another hay drop a few years ago.
"We applied this year because we have been trying to source hay, but it is getting very hard to find," he said.
"We also can't make it rain and the dry has gone on for so long.
"This has been a really big help, to at least get us through the next month."
Ms Crosby said while no more immediate hay runs were planned, individual farmers could still put in a request with Rural Aid.
"Rural Aid hosted a 'chop and chat' session for farmers in Quorn this week, to help boost social interaction in these tough times, and we plan to host another in a few weeks time," she said.
"We really want to hear how farmers are going, to see where we can provide support if possible."
Alisha Fogden
Journalist at Australian Community Media newspapers since 2007.
Journalist at Australian Community Media newspapers since 2007.
