New South Wales farmer Alex Mason gave an insight into the daily battle he experiences as a result of drought, showing how his cows need to be fed manually with a shovel at a trough, now that no green paddocks remain for them to graze on.

“It’s a toss-up between physical, emotional and financial [stress]” Mason told Storyful. He said physical stresses arose from spending three quarters of his day, every day, manually feeding his cattle.

“Emotional, because you’re seeing your ‘girls’ struggle daily. They wait for us to come, they are bored hanging out in paddocks with no grass. They hate the dry.”

Mason said it was sad to see his cows skinny, especially as they calve. Financially, Mason, like his neighbours, struggles to find food for his cows. “Sourcing feed in this drought is a nightmare because it is so widespread and everyone is looking for it in eastern Australia. It’s unprecedented. It will take a couple of years after it breaks before we get back to where we were pre-drought.”

Mason said it was important to stay positive and appreciate that there is still a lot to be grateful for. He said the cattle fully rely on him in good times and bad, so it’s his responsibility to do the right thing by them in the bad times. Credit: Weegowrie Farming via Storyful