Mr Schaefer, who farms at Buckleboo, said he wold start seeding next Monday.

"Hopefully, by the end of next week I'll have between 500 and 600 hectares sown, and then go flat-out the week after that," he said.

Mr Schaefer said a good season was desperately needed to raise the morale of the State's primary producers.

"I think there are a number of farmers who are disillusioned and that covers all ages," he said.

"The young blokes, those from 20 to 30 seem to be pretty disillusioned. Those 50-plus have lost a lot of equity in the past three to four years - 30 to 40 per cent, perhaps even more. While they don't want to stop farming, because they're just about to retire, it does make it tough for them.

"Those from 30 to 50 are either trying to take over from their parents or have bought a farm to build it up, and the timing hasn't been good for them."

He believes farmers will stick with their usual cropping programs, but with lower inputs.

"The problem with livestock is that it is expensive to get into ? if you want to buy 1000 sheep you could be looking at $100,000," he said.

"I think what people are going for is minimum risk, by minimising their expenditure.

"Fertiliser rates will be cut back a bit and I think with chemicals the least expensive option will be utilised. I think we'll see a rise in the use of sulfonlyurea herbicide, just because it's cheap and covers a wide spectrum of weeds.

"I think a lot of people will be looking at doing these things, just for this season, and then go back to normal next year, once they have a bit of cash flow."

Selling forward may be a good option for those in more reliable areas.

* Extract from a full report in Stock Journal, April 23 issue.