IN CONTRAST to the devastation on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range, inland NSW is largely welcoming rain that has fallen over the past week.
Through both the Central West and the Riverina, seasonal conditions are being described as near ideal, while in the north around Moree there will be some damage to summer crop but the rain will boost winter cropping prospects.
Chris Maunder, senior agronomist with B&W Rural, Moree, said parts of his region had received over 220mm in the past week, to go together with other substantial falls in the past month.
"It has meant a lot of river flooding and roads being cut, but from a winter cropping point of view it will be great once the water subsides."
He said the Mehi River in Moree was poised to hit its highest flood levels since 2012.
"The major concern is for residents in low lying areas and those cut off by road closures, agriculturally it should not be too bad," Mr Maunder said.
"There will be some irrigated cotton that will get flooded while some sorghum crops will be at least partially washed out, but the summer crop plant has been smaller than in other years," he said.
"Moving forward the soil moisture profile is full and we'll get a good chance to get a kill on winter dominant weeds before planting, providing it dries out enough to get on the paddocks."
"If you were going to schedule a flood, it really isn't a bad time to have it, although obviously it will have its downside."
Even further out he said farmers were likely to have better access to water for irrigated cropping next summer.
Mr Maunder did say, however, on sloping country in the Bellata area the heaviness and the magnitude of the rain had meant there would be some erosion damage.
Further north-west, farmer Sam Heagney, Mungindi, said rain of up to 150mm had seen areas to the east of the township catch up with land further west, which had been wetter up until now.
"It's all nice and even and we're looking forward to getting into the winter plant with a full profile," Mr Heagney said.
He said there were still concerns about riverine flooding in the area but said there had been relatively little summer crop planted.
"We had some mung beans in and have had to run water off them, but while we'll lose a bit of yield due to the waterlogging they will still be OK.
"The major issue is that the local community will probably have to postpone our Agtech 20 event due to be held on March 31, we're just assessing over the next couple of days whether the water will have subsided enough or whether we need to push it back."
At Parkes, farmer Wayne Dunford said it was virtually a picture perfect start to the cropping season.
"There's been around 70-110mm over most of the Parkes district and it is much the same out to Condobolin," Mr Dunford said.
"It was a lovely, slow, gentle rain that soaked in rather than raining heavily and just washing off," he said.
"There were also good heavy stubbles and plenty of grass to stop any erosion risk."
He said farmers were having success in running down volunteer cereals and this rain would germinate another flush, along with other winter weeds.
"There was a fair bit of grain on the ground, which is a worry as it is feed for mice, but that should be thinning out a bit," he said.
Mr Dunford said optimism was high for the season ahead, but the threat of mice was a concern.
"We haven't had them in as heavy a numbers as from Peak Hill and north but it is certainly something people will be thinking about in regards to planting," he said.
"The impact of the rain is unknown, you'd think where there's actual flooding further north it would knock numbers around a bit but we're not sure how much it will do here.
"The burrows can go down quite deep so they will have some protection so we're really going to have to wait and see."
Greg Condon, Grassroots Agronomy, Junee, in the northern Riverina, also reported widespread falls in excess of 75mm in his region.
"It tapers off a little to the west of the region but a lot of the area has had a really good start to the winter cropping season," Mr Condon said.
He said farmers would utilise the rare opportunity of back to back early breaks to run down weed seed numbers.
"We had a great start last year and achieved good results, although there were some issues in getting hold of herbicide," he said.
"This year farmers are well prepared and are ready to go spraying once the paddocks dry off."
"From there, we'll see the crop starting to go and hopefully we'll get it up and away while soil temperatures are still higher."
Mr Condon said soil moisture profiles were full and regional creeks were running, although with relatively minor flooding.
He said this meant certain soil types could be at risk of waterlogging if rain persisted through autumn and winter.
"You'd always rather deal with too much moisture rather than not enough, but waterlogging will be something those on the heavier grey clays will have to be mindful of."