SOUTHERN Cross farmers are wondering how much drier it has to get in the Yilgarn before the State Government realises there is a drought in the area.
Farmers in the district have struggled with five consecutive years of well below average, or in some cases, non-existent harvests.
The community got together on Monday at a farmer and small business owner meeting in Southern Cross to call on the government to declare the region in drought.
Local farmer Tony Dal Busco said if they were in any other State in Australia, the region would have already been declared a drought or they would have received some sort of drought assistance.
Mr Dal Busco said everyone who farmed in the Yilgarn fully understood that tough seasons were a part of life.
He said it was something everyone planned for and expected once in a while, but with the extremity and the continuing situation faced by farmers in the region, it was time for some help.
"It has taken us five years to get to this position where we are actually saying 'yep, we need a hand'," Mr Dal Busco said.
"Farmers out here are good enough and organised enough to get through a couple of shocking seasons and we have been able to make it to here.
"But this is the fifth year in a row and we need a little bit of help to get to the top of the hill."
Mr Dal Busco, along with Ron Burro, Turkey Hill, said it was time the government declared the region in drought.
Mr Burro said he had approached the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) recently to communicate how bad things were in the district.
"I was then contacted by someone from DAFWA who said they were prepared to come out there and show me how to grow wheat and how to do it better in the area," he said.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I am 61-years-old and have farmed here my whole life, I think I know how to grow wheat.
"After all it was a group of farmers from the Yilgarn who were taken to Iraq to explain to them how to produce wheat in semi-arid areas.
"It is just a joke - DAFWA has been non-existent in this area for a long time."
Mr Burro said the assistance package from Premier Colin Barnett completely missed the mark.
"It was a knee-jerk reaction for a feel good exercise," he said.
Both men agreed it was time the State Government recognised what was happening.
Mr Dal Busco said he wanted to thank farmers from Salmon Gums and Cunderdin who had donated hay to the district.
He said it had been a life-saver but was now calling for the State Government to act.
"There has been $300 million poured into the Ord project, an area of the State which hasn't produced a cent yet," Mr Dal Busco said.
"What about agriculture, how much have we made for this State and we don't get anything."
