The Namoi Valley Independent contacted numerous local farmers about what the outlook was shaping up to be, but majority declined to comment.

Nea farmer John Lyle was one farmer who was happy to talk, but said he believed crops in Gunnedah were on the "knife edge" of survival.

"I reckon they've got about a fortnight to go and then they'll be in terrible trouble," Mr Lyle said.

"When there was two inches [of rain] way back, there was reasonable moisture for a while, but it's all vanishing. [The crops] will fizzle out to nothing."

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Mr Lyle said crops that were sown earlier on could be useful, but more recently sown crops would not be.

"Some [that] were sown early on in the piece are around 14 -18 inches high and they can be made into hay, but the later sown crops, which are very short, will really be a bit of ground cover and that's about all," he said.

"We don't want to go down as whinging farmers but it's not good."

Getting into his 70s, Mr Lyle said he had never seen conditions like this in the past.

"Being out there everyday you just think 'God' ... There's so many of us out there and it's in our blood, but it tests us a bit," he said.

"We're sitting tight and waiting to see what the hell happens. It's a terrifically big mental strain on everybody."

Pursehouse Rural Gunnedah's agronomist Matt Roseby said a lot of rain would be needed before crops are viable.

"There's a prospect for a small amount of harvest if there's rain this month but without any rain this month we'll be considering turning a lot of this crop into hay," Mr Roseby said.

"There's obviously good money for fodder crops so even if you could manage to get a couple tonne of hay to the hectare you're doing better because there's not much prospect of a grain harvest."

Mr Roseby said if rain was to come soon, summer crops could start to be sown.

"One hundred millimetres [of rain] would be nice, 50mm would be a start. We're gonna need 50mm followed by 50mm ten days or two weeks later," the agronomist said.

"If we got some rain ... next month the winter crops would be done so it would be lending us more toward ... early plant corn or sorghum."

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