Struggling crop farmers who feel forgotten amid NSW government handouts to drought-stricken graziers have been assured help is on the way.
Images of starving livestock in desolate paddocks have become synonymous with the terrible drought ravaging NSW.
But those waiting for crops to grow from dustbowls, including fifth-generation farmer Neil Westcott near Alectown, argue they simply aren't getting the same level of assistance as those carrying sheep and cattle on their land
"I certainly haven't forgotten them," NSW Water Minister Niall Blair told AAP.
"I've been very clear to say that this isn't something just impacting our livestock producers, that we did need to consider our cropping sector."
The NSW government has committed $1 billion to drought relief in NSW and Mr Blair said some measures, including concessions for farming vehicles, were available to crop farmers.
"We are closely monitoring that and we'll certainly keep an eye on the situation right across regional communities because this will have a flow-on effect right down to the winter crop," Mr Blair said.
"We are working up a series of options depending on whether it rains or doesn't rain."
Mr Westcott said he'd sunk around $1 million worth of seed, fertiliser and time into the ground earlier this year and was facing the prospect of getting nothing in return
"There's a lot of emotion with stock, it's easy for the prime-time media to portray, whereas I suppose watching crops fail doesn't rate quite as highly," the 58-year-old told AAP.
"Realistically looking at the crops now, we could have nothing and having nothing is not a very nice situation to be in because of the costs of putting it in.
"It's uncharted territory for us. I've been farming since the 1980s and I've never not stripped a crop."
Mr Westcott, who moved away from livestock during the savage millennium drought, said he expects the current dry to push more farmers away from sheep and cattle.
He knows some will stop farming altogether.
