A "battered and bruised" Brendan Farrell has finally turned his big rig for home after an epic hay run to Armidale during the 2020 Australia Day weekend.
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The Burrumbuttock Hay Runners chief has spent the past week clearing out the showgrounds and finalising the last hay deliveries for the 720 farmers in his biggest ballot to date.
Mr Farrell, who posted a Facebook video update on Saturday (as is his practice), stayed behind in Armidale to move hay from the sportsground to two depots and finish loading hay onto trucks for farmers.
"There's still a lot of work to be done with this run," he said.
"My main goal was to get the showgrounds into some type of set-up for 'em."
Mr Farrell, who also announced the next run would be in the outback - "right in the outback", admitted this one had taken a lot out of him.
And he declared the ballot system he originally designed "failed here".
"I've been here all week loading farmers' trucks," he said.
"We've brought a lot of hay into this area, we just have to finish it off.
"I'm going to say it, I've been battered and bruised on this run ... I just tell it how it is."
But an ever-resolute "Bumpa" said for now his priority was getting the hay out to farmers in need.
He said some farmers had been unable to collect hay because of storms or lightning strikes and they would be "notified in due course" of the location of depots.
In the future he will re-evaluate the ballot system.
Mr Farrell said he'd done something "a bit different" on this run, revealing he bought a tent for a woman who was homeless.
"And I tell you what, I feel good about that, really good," he said.
Mr Farrell sent out a huge thanks to everyone who had supported him through the rigours of this trip.
"To my team, another great job," he said.
"To the truck drivers, I take my hat off to you again boys - we've done it."
As he turned his thoughts to getting home and starting back on his day-to-day work, Mr Farrell issued a heart-felt thankyou "to all the Australian people who donated to these hay runs".
Finally, he raised his glass to the local blokes who stayed behind to help at Armidale for a full week.
"Mates for life ... very simple," he stated.
