WEDNESDAY afternoon's spatter of rain got many people's hopes up, but experts say there is unlikely to be decent rain for at least the next three months, and for local primary producers, 'it's getting pretty desperate'.

NSW Agriculture district agronomist Bob McGufficke said many local graziers had run out of pasture for their livestock and were starting to buy supplementary feed, and some farmers had missed their window of opportunity for planting winter crops.

Local businesses are also suffering and some are even considering putting off staff if things don't get better soon.

Eighty percent of the state is now in the grip of what has been called one of the worst droughts in history.

Brewarrina, Bourke and Walgett are some of the worst affected areas in NSW, with many graziers being forced to buy high priced feed and cart in water for their livestock.

Mr McGufficke said if it didn't rain soon, the local area would not be in much better condition.

"Pasture wise, a big majority of people are supplementary feeding with protein blocks,” he said.

"There is still some dry feed at Inverell and Delungra, and east of Inverell.

"I'd say about 50 per cent of properties have dry feed available, but it's of very low quality.

"Fodder crops have been pretty well grazed down, and will be fairly non existent unless we get some rain.”

"Cropping wise, something like 15 per cent of most winter crops have been sown, and in the lighter soils have come up pretty well.

"However, in the northern and western parts of the shire it's getting too late to sow.”

Mr McGufficke said crop growers in the elevated eastern parts of the shire would still have time to sow wheat and barley if they got rain in the next couple of weeks.

He said farmers in the northern part of the shire were doing it particularly tough.

"They haven't gotten any decent rain since at least January, and even then I don't think it was that good,” he said.

© 2002 Inverell Times

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