Kangaroo Island farmers and transporters are facing a logistical nightmare, with one of the two ferries between them and the mainland out of action as demand for livestock feed hits insatiable levels.
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It has sparked a call from the local council for an immediate solution.
Most of the island has only received 10 to 40 millimetres of rainfall for the year, compounding a poor spring last year, and many sheep and cattle producers have been feeding out hay and grain for six months.
What was already a tough task to get across enough stock feed from the mainland has been made even more difficult with ferry provider SeaLink scheduling maintenance on its 'Spirit of KI' vessel until June 1.
While SeaLink has agreed to increase daily services during the period, the 'Sealion' vessel has restrictions on hay transportation due its classification as a flammable material.
Eight additional services have been scheduled between May 30 and June 16 so far after negotiations between AgKI, PIRSA and SeaLink, but transporters have warned it won't scrape the surface of the demand for stock feed currently being experienced.
KI Mayor Michael Pengilly and councillors are calling for urgent support for the island's agricultural sector in light of the circumstances.
"We need to work out an immediate solution to transport adequate levels of hay and grain to the island," he said.
"We are calling for alternatives to be explored, such as a barge to transport essential freight, including hay to the island.
"An alternate such as this, will provide a lifeline to our producers and other businesses across the island during this challenging period."
Mr Pengilly said the situation was causing much anxiety among the farming sector and community at large, with water resources also running low in some areas.
A local transporter told Stock Journal the situation was a logistical nightmare and they had 500 tonnes of grain, and eight loads of hay, waiting at Cape Jervis at the time of speaking.
Multiple clients have been calling every day trying to source feed and scope transport availability as the pressure grows. Others are struggling to get livestock off the island as they destock due to the dry conditions.
In an email to KI residents on Thursday, SeaLink SA general manager Tracy Croft said the company understood the frustration from locals with reduced ferry availability but cited ageing vessels requiring maintenance and unplanned upgrades as reasons.
She said "limited SA shipyard availability and last minute changes to slip access had caused maintenance timing to be earlier than normal", while hiring replacement vessels was unfeasible due to operating in challenging waters and with bespoke infrastructure.
New ferries are expected to come online in early 2025. SeaLink has been contacted for further comment.
The office of the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Tom Koutsantonis was contacted and referred to an interview with DIT chief executive officer Jon Whelan.
He said it was a "perfect storm" situation and PIRSA was working with AgKI to ensure the demands of the island were met during the maintenance period.
"What we want to do is work and try and get these additional services put on, pick up this backlog, get in advance of it but the real key thing in this is the fact that a lack of rain on KI has put more demand on to take over grain and hay to the island which requires more space."
DRY SPELL HIGHLIGHTS ONGOING ISSUES
Kangaroo Island farmer Damien Trethewey says the dry spell is only highlighting the continual issues local residents and business face when it comes to the ferry service.
"Booking your car on from the island across to Cape Jervis is always difficult. You've got to book at least a week to three weeks out in advance," he said.
""I've got a property near Waikerie and can't get my ute on a lot of the time so I'm putting farm supplies and tools in the luggage van just to get across when I need to get jobs done.
"A lot of locals are giving up getting vehicles on and are keeping a vehicle at Cape Jervis and going as walk on passengers.
"It's become a lot more difficult over the past two years than it ever was."
Mr Trethewey runs about 9000 sheep on KI and estimates he is feeding out 10 to 12 tonnes of grain a week.
He and others feel they are at the whim of ferry availability when it comes to running their business successfully.
"They (SeaLink) charge a fee for us locals to go across and come back but it's basically when it suits them and their availability," Mr Trethewey said.
"It's like having a tollway on any other country road but not being able to go through when you want to do your normal business.
"The state government should chip in so the basic service is available all the time regardless of demand.
"SeaLink only put an extra ferry or two on when there's demand and they're making money out of it. It should be available every day of the week morning and night, especially for freight."
