Durham Ox cropper Laurie Maxted said he was just on the point of ordering irrigation water for his wheat, barley, export hay and safflower plantings.
“We have had 32 millimetres of rain, which is absolutely marvelous. We were just getting by through the winter,” Mr Maxted said.
A very dry June and July had seen falls of less than 3-4mm.
“At this stage, we are kicking goals again. We have just been hanging in there waiting for a good rain.
“We had a made to order start in April.”