Help a farmer out

He’s entertained us with his country songs, but now it’s our turn to give him a helping hand. 

He lives on a cattle property in Parkesbourne and, like many other in rural areas, is in a spot of bother due to the drought.  

Mr Arcus and his wife Sue Arcus were in a hole too difficult to come out of, so they didn’t have a choice but to sell their stock.

“We found ourselves in a position where we had to sell most of our breeding herd,” he said.

“We were basically selling anything that was going to make us money for the next few years.”

To make things worse, insects are starting to become a pest too.

“We’ve notice an increase in grasshoppers recently,” he said.

“They’re eating the grass and causing us more havoc.”

Last month, they decided to sell copies of his 2012 album – This Here Cowboy to help their cause.

“We’ve been doing a campaign to essentially turn CDs into hay,” the country singer said.

“We had a lot of CDs in the shed so we decided to sell those,”.  

“The album was released six years ago, but we were selling those because that was the CD that we had most of.” 

Mr Arcus was offered help from charities, but decided to sell CDs instead of being handed the money.

"A lot of people offered us help once we were in this situation,” he said.  

“We didn’t really want to turn to the charities.  

“Once I posted our situation on social media, I had quite a few people asking if I could come and donate my time and sing at fundraising events.”

The musician has been performing at gigs, but the proceeds have gone to charities.

“All the gigs that Roo plays at are for charities supporting the drought,” Ms Arcus said.

“The only thing we get out of them is exposure to Roo’s music.

“Hopefully that encourages people to buy his CDs.”

The couple have only managed to sell around 100 CDs, but most of them were sold to family members.

Ms Arcus says there are many farmers that are suffering from the droughts, but aren't admitting it, so she hopes those in trouble will unite at one.

"There are stubborn farmers who don't want to admit they need help," she said.

"We hope that everyone gets together and supports each other."

The musician has a gig for the Burgers & Beers For Buy a Bale Fundraiser at Kiki's In The Grove in Collector on September 22, so be there to show him your support. 

You can buy his CDs at http://thefeedstore.info/