Drought package shows people care: farmer

Farmer Wayne Newton says the $320m drought package is not going to quickly solve financial problems in the bush.

But it lets people on the land feel like someone cares, says the farmer from Walgett in the NSW northwest.

"I think that's a big, big plus," Mr Newton told AAP.

"When you're going through hardship, you're looking out there for some sort of support, whether it's mental or physical."

Mr Newton, who has seen only about 250mm of rain fall on his property in nearly two years, said he would probably end up applying for assistance.

He said the $10.7m for mental health support was greatly needed.

"These areas are pretty hard to assess because until someone commits suicide or they haven't gone to seek treatment, you just don't know what's happening," he said.

"To my knowledge, under the surface there's a lot of mental health issues.

"It's really hitting the limits.

"Make no mistake: this is a fight for survival out here.

"It's testing the mental, the physical and the financial wellbeing of all people affected."

More than 70 per cent of Queensland and half of NSW are in drought with a dry autumn forecast.

NSW farmers welcomed the drought package and concessional loans designed to ease the load on mounting farm debts.

"The more generous criteria for accessing income support sounds encouraging but we are yet to see the details," said Sarah Thompson, Chair of NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee.

"We are seeking farm assets to be excluded as was the case under exceptional circumstances.

"These assets determine the future income-generating capacity of a farm and will assist farmers recover from drought."

Bourke grazier Phil Ridge said the farmers and communities would have liked something more but the package was sufficient to address short-term issues.

"A lot of these things they come out and sound great but they end up being a bit restricting," he told AAP.

"Hopefully they've addressed that a bit."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited Mr Ridge's property on his recent listening tour.

"I said to him when he visited here, the big picture of farm debt needs some addressing," Mr Ridge said.

"It's a three-way conversation that needs to happen between the banks and government and farmers, because no-one's really getting ahead enough. The elephant in the room is drought and noone can do anything about that."

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.