Running a dairy farm can be relentless, back-breaking and lonely work. That’s why a team of NRMA volunteers made all the difference to Pete and Jane.

Pete works around the clock to keep his farm operating. He and his wife Jane produce 10,000 litres of milk every day, often with little help.

Lack of staff has been a huge pressure for this farm. On top of that, Jane has serious health issues and often goes through tough stages. Peter finds it incredibly difficult to have to be away from her for so long. However, the demands of the farm means he just has to keep working day and night. He would love to spend more time together, but that seems impossible with staff in such short supply.

Volunteers turned up in their NRMA vans welcomed with open arms

Pete said Tara, the corporate volunteer from NRMA, was “like the daughter he never had”. Tara accompanied him for a week and did everything. She wrestled calves and fed newborn cows. She also helped Jane with gardening and painting a bathroom.

The volunteers chipped in straight away and got through a week’s worth of work. Pete said, “These were all important jobs that I just didn’t have time to look at, and it’s helped us get closer to where we should be in terms of operational equipment.”

Quad bikes and tractor running again

They took two broken quad bikes, stripped the parts and created one fully functional quad bike, while fixing another 4×4 bike. They got a tractor running “from nothing”, said Pete, along with fixing two more motorbikes, plus several jobs that helped restore vital pieces of equipment.

Pete said the mental health challenges can be crushing, particularly being so isolated on the farm, and the stress of keeping their head above water with the business. He said community support like that provided by Frontier Services Outback Links and NRMA corporate volunteers means everything and helps him get through tough times.