<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's the annual rodeo that puts the small </span><a href="http://www.9news.com.au/farming" rel="" target="" title="farming"><span>farming</span></a><span> community of Stonehenge, near Longreach in Western </span><a href="http://www.9news.com.au/queensland" rel="" target="" title="Queensland"><span>Queensland</span></a><span>, on the map.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But this year, the </span><a href="https://www.stonehengebushmanscarnival.com.au/" rel="" target="" title="Stonehenge Bushman's Carnival"><span>Stonehenge Bushman's Carnival</span></a><span> came very close to being cancelled after </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-hit-by-horrific-flood-damage-residents-airlifted-to-safety/8c448677-d558-4940-b744-d26ca2d3fd00" rel="" target="" title="flooding devastated the cattle-producing region in March"><span>flooding devastated the cattle-producing region in March</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With no footy fields, no RSL, no library or town hall, the rodeo showgrounds are the community centre of Stonehenge.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/joshua-brown-call-for-unified-response-to-alleged-childcare-sexual-assaults/1992d57c-176b-4eda-b2d4-cc1fbeb692e7"><strong><span>'Won't be the last': Call for national response to alleged childcare sexual assaults</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Charmainne Batt, the secretary of the showgrounds and wife of cattle farmer David, said the rain caught the community off guard.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I didn't think of the rodeo grounds straight away because we obviously had our own bit going on and watching the water run past our houses," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"My husband flies a chopper so he got out as soon as he could and was just checking on people, making sure that people were safe.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/stonehenge-bushmans-carnival-farm-angels-save-outback-rodeo-after-devastating-floods-western-queensland-floods-news/4a85ff4c-0df0-4ef1-b687-d501c0e2397d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He had evacuated some neighbours into the closest town of Jundah, and then he continued on to help move what livestock he could to get them of out of the way of the river that just kept getting higher and higher.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But then someone had actually flown over the showgrounds in their chopper and sent a photo and we were like, 'Oh my goodness, we've got more on our hands here'."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With the roads cut for weeks, Batt asked her husband to fly her into the showgrounds to see how much damage had been done.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/money-news-new-finder-survey-reveals-millions-of-australians-relying-on-inheritance-due-to-cost-of-living-crisis-for-major-financial-milestones-such-as-purchasing-a-home-and-retirement/6d3e4036-21fa-4061-a0ff-739766cb14f8"><strong><span>Millions of Australians relying on an inheritance to achieve major financial goals</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said everything was caked in a thick layer of mud, including thousands of dollars' worth of catering equipment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the thought of the rodeo being cancelled was heartbreaking.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We rely on these events each year to connect and take a break from reality and just have a good weekend," Batt said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The kids are all keen to participate, they can ride a horse... ride a motorbike.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><blockquote><span>"The adults come together and we connect and have a laugh and support each other and not only that, but it brings a bit of economy to the town, and keeps the town alive.</span></blockquote></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was very important to us that it was revived."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a community of only 50 people, who were all working to repair their own properties and livelihoods, it was going to take a miracle to get the showgrounds up and running in time for the rodeo in August.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And on a trip to the nearby town of Jundah, Batt found one.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/western-australia-kalgoorlie-boulder-stinky-town-notices-an-improvement-after-adding-lime-to-source-of-odour/9aaedbe6-66a5-46a6-86f2-3521881903c7"><strong><span>Stinky town notices an improvement after expert sniffs out source of odour</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I ran into a Farm Angels stall set up there helping all the locals... we were just chatting to them and they were checking on us, seeing if we were okay and what we needed," Batt said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It wasn't long after that meeting that Farm Angels chief operating officer Jenny Gailey got in touch.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Farm Angels, previously known as Drought Angels, is a national organisation that began as a grassroots effort to support local Chinchilla farmers impacted by drought in 2014.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The organisation's key focus is supporting the mental health and wellbeing of farmers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Batt said Gailey organised 20 BlazeAid volunteers to help at a working bee with locals, shovelling mud and cleaning windows.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She then organised another charity, GivIt, to help with sourcing $20,000 worth of canteen equipment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Farm Angels also provided $5000 in cash to help the committee get the event up and running.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We all think we can do it ourselves," Batt said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"With these kinds of disasters, we're just sort of bracing ourselves to start fundraising, applying for grants and fixing things ourselves, and it was really a weight off our shoulders when she got in contact with us and said that she wanted to do everything she could.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><blockquote><span>"It's not just the financial side of things and the equipment, but just the fact that they're helping lift the whole community up in general, and she's always just a phone call away."</span></blockquote></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Farm Angels founder Tash Johnston said the challenges facing farmers are complex.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Our family farms are struggling to pay their bills and put food on their own tables," she told nine.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The economic pressures, are mounting on them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There's a big push to move to regenerative farming and improving farming techniques, which many of them are really working on but at the same time, that costs money.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When they're getting paid the same prices that they did back in 1973 for their beef and their grain and their milk, you know, it's hard for them to move to these practices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"These disasters are coming thicker and faster, in the current times, whether it's climate change or whether it's weather cycles, they are facing these challenges a lot closer together.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We know this recovery is going to take them three to five years... so we stay with them, we'll continue supporting them, checking up on them."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said the best way to support Australian farmers was to buy Australian produce.</span><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We lose a farmer every 10 days to suicide in this country," Johnston said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We've got to do better."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Farm Angels </span><a href="https://www.flannoforafarmer.com.au/" rel="" target="" title="Flanno for a Farmer"><span>Flanno for a Farmer</span></a><span> campaign is underway now.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.stonehengebushmanscarnival.com.au/" rel="" target="" title="Stonehenge Bushman's Carnival"><span>Stonehenge Bushman's Carnival</span></a><span> is on August 15-17.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.</span></strong></div></div>