From today, more than a thousand farming families will start receiving a lump sum entitlement to help them meet household costs, as important improvements to the Farm Household Allowance (FHA) take effect. Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie said couples whose time on the FHA had expired would receive up to $13,000 and single people would receive up to $7500 – or the equivalent of six months on the payment.

A meeting of all State and Commonwealth Agriculture Ministers in Moree tomorrow will be an important step toward locking in a unified national drought strategy, Northern Tablelands MP and Minister for Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said today. Mr Marshall called the special AGMIN meeting, the first outside a major city, to provide his counterparts with an opportunity to see first-hand the toll the prolonged dry is taking on local communities and discuss the response to ongoing drought and drought recovery in their jurisdictions.

The Liberal and Nationals Government is committed to supporting Australian farmers and their families doing it tough during the ongoing drought, and to help them be more resilient to deal with the next drought when it comes. Changes to Farm Household Allowance (FHA) passed the Australian Parliament today that build on improvements made by the Liberal and Nationals Government by making sure farmers receive the full rate of payment and a $10,000 training supplement.

Landholders across the New England are being urged to take advantage of rebates now open for new, on-farm water infrastructure. Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, said farmers can claim up to 25% of their costs from buying and installing new on-farm water infrastructure such as pipes, storages, pumps, de-silting dams and associated power supplies such as generators.