Country Today - May 19th

United Dairy Farmers of Victoria will once again be united, with the break-away group Dairy Farmers Victoria agreeing to kiss and make up. If, or when, there's ever an outbreak of food and mouth disease in Australia, livestock producers will go broke. That's the blunt assessment of livestock vet Dr Ross Ainsworth who has had many years of working with the live cattle export trade to Indonesia. Mice plagues have been spreading across Western Australia and South Australia causing major concerns for growers. Grain Producers Australia (GPA) has secured a national emergency permit  for stronger mouse bait. You may have heard of the Dolly's Dream Foundation, established after 14-year-old Dolly Everett took her own life after being cyberbullied. Bairnsdale Horse Centre owner Carly Knight recently celebrated a major milestone in her fundraising efforts for Dolly's Dream, having raised a total of $1 million. To best help farmers deal with the mental impact of drought, a scheme funded by the Federal Drought Innovation Hub is looking at a community based approach with a check in over a coffee, rather than formal clinical appointments with farmers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.