GOOD starting rains won't be enough to wash away the worries of the eastern Wheatbelt.
But for the first time in a long time there is a genuine feeling of hope in the region.
Significant falls in recent weeks has meant puddles and muddy press wheels, a welcome change from the dusty haze of dry seeding.
Even bogged machinery and seeding delays can't dampen farmer optimism.
For Moorine Rock grower Alan Nicholson the early rain has marked the best start to the growing season in almost a decade, and while he is optimistic about his seasonal prospects, there are still many hurdles and challenges ahead.
"It has been a dream," Mr Nicholson said.
"We really thought a start like this couldn't happen anymore."
The Nicholson family have farmed in the area since 1926 and have experienced first hand the highs and lows of farming in the east.
Alan farms alongside brother John and for the first time in years the brothers plan to implement their full cropping program in the 2014/15 season.
"We have only put in our full program for half of the last decade," he said.
This year the brothers will plant their 2700ha wheat-based program into Halberd, Tamarin Rock and Mace, and when Farm Weekly stopped by their gate recently they were a quarter of the way into their seeding program.
But despite the promising start to the season and a good seasonal outlook, Mr Nicholson said it would take more than one good year to pull the region out of trouble.
"We need a run of good seasons," he said.
"Most people out here have received the rain, but they are scratching to put in some of their programs.
"If you travel east of Moorine Rock there are only a small handful of farmers still viable."
Mr Nicholson said the last decade had been characterised by a series of bad years, with some average seasons in between.
"In the last 10 years we have had three utter droughts where we have had less than 100mm of rain for the year," he said.
"And in amongst that we have had summer rain in November, where people have spent a lot of money on summer spraying, but without the follow through of a reasonable season.
"It has drained people's resources quite badly."
He said the community had struggled to attract young people back to the area and many farmers were close to retirement age.
The saving grace for the brothers has been their second business, Moorine Rock Ag Supplies, which services local farmers in the area.
But according to Mr Nicholson the fall in farmer numbers through farm amalgamation and the lease of properties had significantly reduced the profitability of the enterprise.
"The business was meant to be our retirement fund, but it hasn't been, it has kept our farm business going," he said.
Mr Nicholson said growers in the region felt that their plight was still not being heard by government.
"Colin Barnett came up and spoke to us in the Moorine Rock tennis club straight after the State election last year," he said.
"People were critical and said he wasn't going to do anything, but I spoke up for him because I thought he wouldn't come up and waste his time after an election if he wasn't going to do anything.
"But since then he has done absolutely nothing.
"At the time I asked him straight up if he had written us off, and he told us all the reasons he wants us to be out here.
"But I think he went away and found the problem was too big."
Mr Nicholson said almost no farmers in the Yilgarn had been eligible for drought assistance for a number of reasons but mostly because their equity was too low.
"The government has their hands in our pockets the whole time," he said.
"Especially the State Government with stamp duty, licenses, fees and charges, there are a lot of things they do themselves that add costs," he said.
Mr Nicholson said the biggest problem was that growers had been left at the whim of the banks.
"The banks decide they have got too much exposure so they cut farmers loose," he said.
"They change their policies and then slash and burn.
"We have guys who are paying their bills but the banks are still upping their interest rates like crazy."
Despite the challenges of farming in marginal country, Mr Nicholson said there was nothing he loved more than growing wheat.
"This land is capable of anything," he said.
"We have patches of land that go 6-7 tonne a hectare given the right conditions, but our best ever average was just over 2t/ha."
Mr Nicholson said he usually didn't like looking at the weather forecast but with rain projected for the coming days he was eager.
"Bring it on," he said.
