While livestock producers in the southern Riverina remain hopeful a good spring season is ahead of them, the high cost of buying extra irrigation water remains a concern.
John Doyle, from Claredale near Berrigan, runs a cattle finishing and potato production operation, rotating crops with livestock on the 400 hectare property.
The family runs a self replacing Poll Hereford herd, with breeding done on his daughter's property at Lurg near Benalla in north-east Victoria, where about 120 cows are joined annually.
"We supply steers at around 500 kilograms to the feedlots, or to the fat market if they are (good) enough," he said.
"We do also buy in cattle when we can. This year we have only bought in 80, some years we might buy in 200.
"This year it was only a small number because we didn't have much hay on hand, and it was a bit of a late start to the season.
"We never really got a break until early May. Which is good, but we were actually exhausted for any feed at the start of that.
"We had been using the last of our irrigation water to establish some early crops, but since then we have had growing season rainfall of around 125 mm."
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The situation in the southern Riverina stands in contrast to what is happening in northern NSW, and to the west, which remained in the grip of drought.
Mr Doyle accepts they have been lucky.
"If not, it would've been pretty dire," he said.
"We would have exhausted all our hay supplies, we would've sold some of our breeding stock and we wouldn't have tried to fatten anything."
For Mr Doyle and many others, the hope for good rain is also driven by the high cost of buying extra water out of the Murray Darling system.
Rural Real Estate Manager and Water Broker with Elders in Deniliquin Matt Horne, said the current cost of water was too high for pasture.
"My understanding is the permanent planting guys are paying $660 to $650 a megalitre," he said.
"The lack of allocation that we have been receiving through the Murray and Murrumbidgee Valleys, is forcing those irrigated pasture operators to go to the temporary market.
"For livestock producers, I think a comfortable level would be more in that $200 to $250 area - $300 to $350 at a push.
"Some have been forced to pay $500 to $600 for water for breeding stock. But I can't see them paying that sort of money if things tighten up in the spring."
For the Doyles, the price of extra water allocation wasn't stacking up.
"Basically $600 a megalitre is too much," Mr Doyle said.
"We are still battling with the question of if we can still grow as many potatoes at that sort of money. When it's cheap enough it's good to add to your pastures to get maximum production out of them.
"Two hundred dollars a megalitre would be okay. The less the better, but we can make it work at $200."
