“The issue is that while we had an extremely positive start to the year, without continued rainfall particularly at this crucial stage, farmers could be facing more trouble with winter crops.” Mr Laurie said.

“Winter crop prospects are currently good, but this is dependant on a decent autumn break, which failed to show up last year, and the year before that, so it’s obvious why farmers are remaining cautious,” he said.

“While drought figures compared to this time last year are much smaller, half of the state is still in drought, and that is significant.

“March was quite dry for most of the state. Although we saw the Central West and South East get useful storm rainfall, the lack of rain in other regions is serious,” Mr Laurie said.

Also of concern are the upcoming expirations of Exceptional Circumstances (EC) declarations.

The declaration for Burke and Brewarrina expires on June 15, while all other declarations in NSW expire on September 30.

“Our industry is to some extent an uncertain one in terms of the seasons, but it is within the power of the federal government to give clear indications to people of what they can expect with EC declarations,” Mr Laurie said.

“Farmers need the certainty of a decision well before the expiry date to allow them to seek finance to plant a winter crop. Farm families are under extreme pressure and are anxious about what might happen if EC declarations are revoked.

“The NSW Farmers’ Association is working with both state and federal governments to ensure all necessary information is provided in a timely fashion, and we will continue to monitor progress in relation to drought.

“We hope to see a more positive reversal of the drought in the next month’s figures,” Mr Laurie concluded.

Areas to move back into drought included regions of the Central Tablelands, Hume, Wilcannia and Yass.