Incredible photos have emerged of the moment these drought-stricken cattle in New South Wales’ central west have been waiting for.
In dire need of food, dozens of famished cows swarmed around bales of hay delivered by Victorian-based company Redfield Transport to a dry and dusty paddock at Wayne Dunford’s Lynton property near Parkes on Monday.
With 100 per cent of the state officially in drought, many desperate farmers like Mr Dunford now depend on convoys of hay from interstate to feed their hungry herds.
Dozens of starving cows (pictured) at Wayne Dunford’s Lynton property near Parkes received some welcome relief on Monday

The bales of hale delivered to feed Wayne Dunford’s cattle (pictured) were transported from central Victoria
Chris Redpath, who has run an agricultural freight business in central Victoria for 15 years, never had to cross the NSW border until this year.
His drivers are making the 720-kilometre, eight hour journey to the NSW central west on a daily basis.
‘I’ve never carted hay like this before – it’s horrendous, it’s horrible,’ Mr Redpath told AAP.
‘Running hay over the NSW border is, in our business, unheard of. We’ve actually had to buy more gear to be able to handle the job. I should not be carting hay that far.’

Redfield Transport made the the 720-kilometre, eight hour journey to the Lynton property on Monday to deliver hay bales

The dry and dusty paddock (pictured) at the Lynton property shows how tough it has been for drought-stricken farmers
Mr Redpath finds himself offering emotional support to the drought-stricken farmers.
‘We’ve never met before and they’re reaching out on the telephone,’ he said.
‘I had a farmer ring me up the other day and say ‘I really need to know that you’re going to cart up this load of hay because my cattle are starving.’
Mr Dunford, 68, has been forced to fork out $100,000 on freighted hay so far this year.
He will continue to pay for hay to be transported from interstate until the drought breaks.
‘We got caught short because we came off the back of some other bad years,’ he told AAP.
‘We’ve had little bits of rain but all it does is settle the dust.’

The drought in NSW has taken its toll on livestock on this Lynton property west of Parkes in the state’s central west
Meanwhile, a convoy of 20 road trains laden with 2,000 bales of hay will arrive in Condobolin in the state’s central west from outback Western Australia later this week following a 3,500 kilometre journey across the Nullarbor which began on Monday.
Organised by the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) charity, it will feed 1,000 cows or 20,000 sheep for a fortnight.
‘Some of the drivers are donating their time, some are doing a route they wouldn’t normally do, others are driving for companies but in most cases they’ve personally put their hand up,’ RRT spokesman Alex Sharpe told the ABC.
‘It’s amazing — I can say with certainty that everyone involved is absolutely passionate and keen to be on board.’
Watsons Logistics and Transport managing director Robert Watson added: ‘There’s not much we can do from Western Australia usually, but this is something we can do so we put our hand up.’

The dry spell is expected to continue for drought-affected regions in the coming months
Federal Hume MP Angus Taylor juggled parliamentary duties with coordinating the road trains of hay from Western Australia for needy farmers across NSW.
‘There has been a tremendous show of solidarity for our farmers, which is lifting them through this tough time,’ Mr Taylor said.
‘It’s about 1000 tonnes of hay – or about 2000 bales – that’s being donated to farmers, including those who need help around the Wollondilly and Camden regions. This won’t even touch the sides, but it’s a way of saying ‘we’re with you and we’re going to help you get through.’
RRT delivered a B-double load of 64 hay bales to farmers in the Wollondilly region southwest of Sydney on the weekend.

Redfield Transport trucks (pictured) had never had to cross the NSW border until this year. It’s now happening on a frequent basis
The NSW government last month announced $500 million in drought relief for farmers taking the total contribution past $1 billion.
Stage two of funding provides freight subsidies of up to $20,000 per farm.
‘Any dollar is handy,’ Mr Dunford said.
Sadly, the record breaking dry spell is expected to continue with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting high warm and dry conditions for drought-affected regions in the coming months.

Wayne Dunford (pictured) has spent $100,000 on transported bales of hay from interstate so far this year

He says he has no choice but to continue paying for hay to be transported from interstate until the drought breaks