THE Pye brothers are driving to north-west Victoria with one bale of hay in their ute to mark the beginning of their hay drive.
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As a St Vincent de Paul volunteer, Chris Pye has travelled to drought affected farms in the Millewa region surrounding Mildura and has heard farmers talk of their need for fodder.
"I grew up on a farm and I remember when my dad was sick in hospital and my brother and I were left to run the farm; we were 12 and 10 at the time," he said.
"Local farmers came and helped us harvest and that's always stuck in my mind.
"It's really distressing as a farmer to see their stock in need."
Chris is joining the St Vincent de Paul Drought Relief campaign to deliver hay to the Millewa region while his brother John, who is a part of Rotary in Portland, will use his connections to pull together more support.
Allansford's Eddie White will help the brothers with the transport to north-west Victoria.
After talking to his brother about drought-affected areas in the state, John decided to jump on board with the cause and use his own connections to grow the contribution.
"Last year the Portland Rotary did a hay drive for the fires and when Chris was talking about this hay drive I thought we could help out," John said.
"It's good to put the focus back on the drought. When you're in drought, you never know when you'll get out. We're so fortunate down here, it's been an almost perfect year."
The brothers set off on a three-day drive from their family dairy farm in Bessiebelle to Mildura on Tuesday morning where they will stop at Portland, Horsham and various Millewa farms to work out how much fodder they need to collect.
The brothers made a pit-stop in Horsham on Tuesday. They will stop over in Ouyen on Tuesday night and arrive at their final destination in Mildura on Wednesday.
If you would like to donate head to vinniesvic.grassrootz.com/vinnies-drought-relief.