Furever Farm has raised more than $43,300 to stay afloat in the current drought and financial crisis thanks to support from the community.
The success of their Go Fund Me campaign so far means the not-for-profit animal sanctuary in Rockleigh will be able to keep the lights on, feed the animals and pay for some crucial surgeries in the near future.
The sanctuary was first opened in 2016 by Darren and Hailey Appleby to help orphaned, abandoned and special needs farm animals. They are now looking after 183 animals.
Darren Appleby has told ARN’s Adam and Jennie this morning that the team is very grateful for the financial help.
“The support we’ve had since we put the crowdfund out there has been amazing, we’ve been overwhelmed by it, we really have and we’re so appreciative and really grateful” Darren Appleby told ARN’s Adam and Jennie.
“That’s an amount we’ve raised to keep us going for the immediate term, but if we just sit on that, that will dwindle pretty quickly, so we’ve got to look into the future,” he said.
The region has experienced the driest 12 months on record, with drought being a major contributor to the farm’s financial challenges.
“You could count on one hand the amount of rain that we had out here in 2024 and we all know the situation carried on in 2025, so yeah it’s affected us and I guess others immensely, I mean we’re using feed-wise, as far as hay and fodder… three times as much as what we usually would, because on the ground there’s nothing but dirt and rock,”
Furever Farm will investigate ways of staying afloat financially in future, including working to attract more corporate sponsors.
