Concerns are mounting along the south-east coast of Australia as parts of Victoria and NSW experience a dryer start to 2020 compared to the same time last year.
Producers in the Bega Valley are among those concerned and fear a lack of substantial rainfall could force them to truck in water as dams continue to miss much-needed rain.
Bega beef farmer Rex Hergenhan has lived in the valley for 71 years and said while a strong downpour of 190 millimetres in February improved grass conditions, sub-soil moisture levels were the driest on record.
"We're heading into winter and it means the evaporation level will be quite low so we think we'll get through the winter but if we get into spring without a good fall of rain it will be a challenging spring," he said.
Between April and December last year, the Bega Valley received less than 100mm after 330mm fell in the first quarter.
In comparison, only 225mm of rain has fallen to date and while forecasters predict average or above average rainfall this season, some producers are not overly optimistic.
"We had dairy farmers carting water for cows before the rain February so there is real concern if we go through the same winter we had last year, we may run out of water for stock particularly," Mr Hergenhan said.
Fifth generation dairy farmer Phil Ryan, Bega, said he was down to less than 10 weeks' worth of stock water up until he received 125mm over a three-day period in February.
Most of his smaller dams are dry and while his major dam is nearing capacity, he is also concerned about the months ahead.
"Anyone relying on dams would be nervous," he said.
Mr Ryan leases 60 hectares near by and said he would be destocking that property due to a lack of water.
The same property carried up to 80 cows last year.
Mr Ryan is one of many farmers who was forced to destock in 2018 due to the drought, selling 60-odd cows to cut feed costs and pay bills.
"I'm worried about what it will look like in three or four weeks if we don't get rain because the season will slow right down and the grass will stop growing," he said.
Beef and sheep farmer and livestock carrier Barry Moffitt, who owns 1800 hectares in the Bega Valley, said the region needed a soaking rain after a very dry 12 months.
"We're just hanging in there with no moisture," Mr Moffitt said.
"I've been spraying blackberries and sowing but we desperately need rainfall because all the springs and little creeks are dry.
"We have enough water to irrigate from off the creek that runs through our property but our dams are all very low because run-off from the most recent rain just disappeared."
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