Much-needed spring rain has lifted rural confidence from a 12-year low, but not enough to significantly restore hopes on the drought-ravaged east coast.
Four in 10 farmers in Australia are still pessimistic about the year ahead, according to Monday's quarterly rural confidence survey from Rabobank, with recent rainfall arriving too late to bolster winter crop prospects, and more needed soon if the drought is to break.
Seasonal differences aside, 94 per cent of 1,000 farmers surveyed in November indicated they felt prepared to navigate the impacts of drought, with more than 50 per cent reporting they are more prepared now than five years ago.
"Producers have become more proactive, rather than reactive, in the way they manage drought," Rabobank Australia chief executive Peter Knoblanche said.
"But even the best strategies become harder to execute the more prolonged, and severe, the drought is and there are parts of Queensland and New South Wales that have been facing adverse seasons for a number of years now."
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It is a vastly different story in the west, as Western Australian producers look to reap half of the nation's winter grain crop.
Farmer confidence showed signs of improvement across most of the country with Queensland posting the biggest recovery, though Mr Knoblanche acknowledged catastrophic bushfires and extreme heatwave conditions would have knocked farmer confidence since the survey was in the field.
Mr Knoblanche said the more positive sentiment in the eastern states had come off the back of good rains, with some drought-affected areas receiving their best falls for the year.
"If it were not for the late break in the season over in Western Australia, we would be harvesting the smallest winter crop in two decades - with grain production more than halved in New South Wales and Queensland," he said.
