Wayne Dunford has been asking himself that question for years.

The 65-year-old NSW Farmers vice-chairman and his son run winter crops, wool and fat lambs at Parkes and cattle on two properties north of Brewarrina.

They have first-hand knowledge of the heartache in the region of north-western NSW that has consistently missed out on rain for years.

Mr Dunford said the pressure on farmers in the Weilmoringle, Walgett, Goodooda, Lightning Ridge, Bourke and Brewarrina districts has been unbelievable.

"At Parkes we have had the benefit of some reasonable years," he said.

"We can get up in the morning and see a bit of green lucerne and some fat lambs.

"People in the north-west walk out the back door and get a blast of dirt in their face. There is no water in the dams and the stock are half dead. They are living, breathing and smelling drought every day.

"There's a lot of angst out there and people who owe a lot of money are at their wit's end. The pressure has become very significant and it seems like the state and federal governments are turning their backs.

"What is happening in the north-west is causing people a lot of mental harm."

Mr Dunford said government failed to acknowledge the great wealth agriculture had generated for Australia over many years.

"If the government was fair dinkum about supporting the rural sector a lot more money and infrastructure would be allocated to country areas," he said.

"In good times farming does not seem to be appreciated and it certainly doesn't gain the recognition it deserves when drought hits.

"We just hear a lot of talk about the need to help make farmers better managers. In my view, farmers who are not good managers do not exist.

"Bureaucrats and politicians say that farmers should be using Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecasts in their management decisions.

"But if we did that we'd all be broke in 12 months because the predictions are not reliable.

"Two years ago, for example, things were very dry in the north-west but farmers held on their stock because the bureau said it would be wetter than usual coming into spring and summer.

"We kept hand feeding but the rain promised over and over again didn't eventuate. We ended up with very dry conditions for the next six months.

"This year the BOM has talked again and again about El Nino but in many parts of the state higher than normal rainfall has been received at a time when low rainfall was predicted."

Mr Dunford said farmers accepted there were always going to be dry periods in Australia and they didn't scream drought in the first 12 months of low rain.

"But when you get into the second, third or fourth period of drought there has to be a better way of determine how assistance should be provided.

"Under the current system the state and federal governments asked the BOM to provide data on rainfall events worse than one in 50 years.

"They came up with little circles around Walgett and Bourke airports. There was very little data for anywhere else because the BOM doesn't have official records in many areas.

"In Queensland the government recognises there aren't weather stations to cover a large portion of the state so local drought committees were established to provide advice when farmers lodge applications for help.

"It would be a step in the right direction if NSW set up a similar system allowing people with local knowledge to provide valuable information."

Mr Dunford said freight subsidies, no longer available in NSW, still operated in Queensland.

He said farmers in the Weilmoringle district spending tens of thousands of dollars moving stock to and from agistment missed out on financial assistance if they had a NSW address.

"Neighbours a short distance away get freight subsidies because their properties are classified as being part of Queensland," Mr Dunford said.

"Freight subsidies don't cover anywhere near the full cost of transport but they give farmers a helping hand and provide a boost for small rural towns that aren't seeing much money.

"One of the best indicators of the state of business in the north-west region is the drop off in GST. In some towns it is down to nearly zero because no transactions are occurring."

Mr Dunford said NSW Farmers tried to get government to provide small business grants for business people in drought-affected areas.

"Our idea was to run a system similar to flood assistance offered during times of natural disaster," he said.

"But the answer was no. Drought, for whatever reason, is not determined to be a natural disaster.

"Government just wants to talk about the low-interest concessional loans on offer.

"But when people are just about down on their knees after three years of drought the last thing they want to think about it getting a loan when there is nothing in front of them to pay it back.

"After a drought like this it will take up to 10 years to get back on top."

According to Mr Dunford, some areas of the north-west received reasonable rain during winter.

Falls were patchy and in general terms areas around Walgett and Weilmoringle missed out, he said.

"Small rain events don't trigger growth," Mr Dunford said.

"Coming into summer we need significant falls of 40-50mm to trigger the growth of grasses.

"Because it has been dry for so long the land just absorbs rain like water tipped down a plug hole.

"It is going to take quite a bit to get things wet again to keep the summer grasses going."