FARMERS at a Korunye dairy farm have been left shattered after a shed containing machinery and feed was destroyed by arsonists this past week.
Police and fire crews were called to the Minko North dairy farm on Harvey Road at around 12.30am on Friday, June 14, after reports a shed was on fire.
The shed, described as “near heritage” by a neighbour, was completely destroyed, as well as a front-end loader and cattle feed.
Police are treating the blaze as suspicious.
The farm’s general manager Brad Fridd said the fire had made life difficult for the entire farm as they struggled to clean up the damage and continue running regular operations.
“One of our front-loaders is off being repaired so that (the front-loader destroyed in the fire) was the only one we had on site, so that was a fair-old dent,” he said.
“We didn’t get the cows fed until lunch time when we managed to get another loader in.
“It made life hard for us over the weekend and the place is a fair old mess because of it.
“We lost a bit of grain, I’ve already got fresh stuff in, but four or five days without that lead feed grain could also affect the cow’s health too.
“It’s not so much hurting us, but it’s hurting the cows more than anything.
A neighbour to the property said they were sleeping when they heard a loud explosion coming from the shed, before walking outside and seeing the shed up in flames.
The witness also reported hearing a car speed away down the dirt road after the incident.
Mr Fridd said he couldn’t comprehend why someone would attack the property.
“When you look at your phone at 1.30am in the morning and see missed calls you’re usually expecting something pretty serious, but I wasn’t expecting the place to be burning,” he said.
“Letting cows out is one thing, burning stuff down is a bit beyond a joke.
“It’s not so much the cost of it, but there’s people living on-site we had fears for.
“It could’ve potentially cost lives as well as all the damage that has been done.”
Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au.