Cathy Noakes is one of the farmers fighting drought but she is also fighting to heal from 2 brain tumours
Cathy Noakes is one of many farmers who is currently battling one of the worst droughts Australia has seen. To add to Cathy’s woes she has also had to struggle with health issues that have left her unable to work for over 18 months.
Her story touched the hearts of The Healthy Mummy team so much that we just had to help, so when she entered her details in our recent community call-out for strugglingΒ farmers we knew we had to help her.
As well as helping Cathy through a cash donation as part of our Healthy Mummy Support For Farmers we also wanted to share her story so that more people hear about these struggles from someone who is dealing with the drought first-hand. Read Cathy’s story below, in her own words.
Cathy Noakes is a survivor in every sense of the word and is just one of our farmers fighting drought
“My whole income is from farming & rural contracting which with the drought I have no income.”
“My farm is at Braidwood NSW, we brought it in 2001Β and have been working to improve the paddocksΒ and pastures since then. I run cattle, predominantly Poll HerefordΒ and also cross-breed from them. I also have commercial cattle, approximately 50 head at the moment as I reduced my breeders when I first got diagnosed with a brain tumourΒ and reduced numbers again with my second tumour.”
“My passion is my stud Poll Herefords which I am extremely proud of, I now haveΒ three generations of my favourite girls here. I run my best stud girls on the farm at homeΒ and I lease land for my commercial cattle. My main income is split between selling steers for meat, stud bulls for breedingΒ and also Iβm a rural contractor, at the moment not one part of my income is viable due to recovering from my brain tumour surgeryΒ and also the drought.”
“I have studΒ and commercial cattle that I have been breeding for over 10 years getting their bloodline the way I want. Many farmers have done the same thatβs why itβs not easy to just sell all your cattleΒ and buy them back later when it rains as we will never get our bloodline back. I have reduced my stock by 50% Β over the lastΒ two years. I, like a lot of other farmers in this area, now only have my best breedersΒ and some heifer calves.”
“It has been windy here for what seems foreverΒ and watching the topsoil from your paddock blow away knowing all the time, money, fertilizerΒ and effort that has gone into them is not only heartbreaking but very depressing. Hay has increased fromΒ four months ago from $100/bale to nearly $500/bale now.”
Cathy has also hadΒ a health battleΒ which has, and still does, affect her mental health
“The droughtΒ and the stresses from that financially, feeding cattle, wondering where my next load of hay will come from doesnβt help with the [surgery] recovery. I guess I just have to try not to think about the part of the first tumour that’s still in my headΒ and the possibility of more new tumoursΒ and when this drought will break otherwise it can eat you up.”
“Itβs also hard to see my fellow farmers, my mates, suffering. They so kindly donated a lot of money at my Going Country For Brainstorm fundraiserΒ and to watch them struggling nowΒ and know thereβs no way I can help them back is really hard.”
“Itβs not easy to not be depressed looking at the wind blowing dirt thatβs meant to be your pastures away every day. Or when feeding hungry cows as their condition still drops due to the bitterly cold winds. Plus watching everything you have worked so hard for financially disappear due to high hay pricesΒ and very low cattle sale prices.”
If you are as moved as we are by Cathy’s story please consider donating to Drought Angels to help those affected by this horrendous drought. Another way you can show your support for Cathy is to help her in raising funds for brain cancer researchΒ with Cathy’s Going Country For Brainstorm fundraiser.
Read moreΒ of Cathy’s story of survival and how she fought two separate brain tumours.