Warm weather conditions were a major talking point at the 59th Dowerin Machinery Field Days last Wednesday and Thursday, particularly what it would mean for WA's crops this harvest.
As Wyalkatchem farmer Paul Trenorden said, sometimes it's not the frost but the hot weather in August and September that can be the killer.
"If you go to Dowerin Field Days in shorts and a singlet, that's not good," Mr Trenorden said.
"The past few years we haven't had to, but for most of my farming career at the Dowerin Field Days, we've been wanting rain."
Some crops are showing signs of heat damage and yellowing after hot weather.
There are reports that some farms in the Perenjori area are putting their sheep onto crops that have no chance of being harvested.
The low rain and high temperatures have made the season difficult for the eastern and northern Wheatbelt.
CSBP regional sales manager central, Jonathan Hams, said the season was incredibly varied across WA, with southern growers getting bogged and waterlogged, while northern farmers were struggling for rain.
He said the hot weather wasn't ideal, especially for growers who experienced a cold July with frost.
Crops were behind where they should be for this time of year.
"The crops are struggling a little bit now," Mr Hams said.
"I guess everyone needs rain.
"Some need a rain to make a season, while with others all the potential is there they just need a soft, strong finish."
Along the Great Southern Highway, there is a strip of farms with very wet crops.
In comparison, some growers further east had received less than 100 millimetres of rainfall.
Mr Hams said the weather was making nitrogen decisions difficult, as crops had a lot of catching up to do but rain was unpredictable.
He recommended farmers to start testing for nutrients in their soil and ensure they applied the right amount of fertiliser.
"Inputs have risen across the board in the last five years, but while the rewards are there with grain prices it's worth it," Mr Hams said.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has released its long range forecast for the spring season, which predicts warmer than usual temperatures and below average rainfall.
The winter season was 1.5 degrees warmer than usual (Australian mean average), making it the country's warmest winter since 1996.
In WA, the mean temperature was 0.9 degrees warmer than average.
BoM climate services manager Dr Karl Braganza said WA in particular would record unusually warm day and night temperatures this spring.
It hasn't made any changes to its El Nino alert status, however in the past, when the El Nino alert criteria has been met, El Nino occurred around 70 per cent of the time.
"There is a significant contrast in climatic conditions this spring compared to last year when Australia had its second-wettest spring on record," Dr Braganza said.
"This spring, the forecast shows most areas have a high chance of below average rainfall, and many areas have an increased chance of an unusually dry spring."
BoM senior climatologist Catherine Canter said it was likely a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) would occur during spring.
This is defined by the difference in surface temperature of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
"This increases our chances of below average rainfall for much of south-eastern and central Australia," Ms Canter said.
"If a positive IOD occurs with an El Nio, the drying effect is typically stronger and more widespread across Australia, compared to either event by themselves.
"This year, global sea surface temperatures have been the highest on record from April to July."
The BoM forecast explained that due to the connection between ocean temperatures and weather patterns, sustained warmer temperatures increases the risk of heatwaves, drought and longer fire seasons.
The forecast showed the State's southern and eastern areas would not be exempt from this unusually dry spring.
These areas, the South West, Great Southern and Southeast Coastal regions recorded consistent winter rainfall, particularly the South West corner.
This rainfall, despite being the envy of farmers in the State's north, was still below average, and in some areas of the southern regions, was "very much below average".
The rainfall across WA for the winter season was 16 pc below average, while across Australia as a whole, it was 4 pc below average.
The luck has run out for the South West corner, as this area is expected to be unusually dry also.
BoM said the drier conditions across the country would put certain States of a greater bushfire risk.
However, Australia's fire agencies have stated that Western Australia's fire season is expected to be average for spring, and may increase in severity towards summer.
In the north, October is typically considered the start of the wet season.
In winter, the Kimberley and Pilbara regions recorded higher than average winter rainfall totals.
For spring, the first, and most significant rains of this northern wet season are likely to come later than usual across WA.
The effects of El Nino have been felt across the State and the country by a warmer and drier than average winter period, causing "detrimental effects" on the global supply of wheat.
What makes El Nino and its counterpart, La Nina, confusing is the way it impacts different parts of the world in different ways.
Rabobank's monthly report said El Nino wouldn't affect the United States during its major growing season.
In South East Asia, drier and warmer weather is ideal for producing agri commodities within these countries.
However the report said Thailand and India are "already dry" and have revised their agri commodity estimates following the drier season.
This may affect the supply of wheat, sugar, cocoa and coffee.
The effects of El Nino come after three consecutive years of La Nina, which generally results in colder, wet weather in Australia.
However in the growing regions of North and South America, La Nina tends to cause dry conditions and droughts.
Between 2021-2022, La Nina brought upon drought conditions in Brazil and Argentina, which decimated soy yields by up to 40 pc.
