Long-time Oakhampton farmer Austin Breiner never lost a crop in the millennium drought - which was widely renowned as the 'drought of all droughts' until recently.

This time around his entire pumpkin crop died and he is caught in a constant struggle to keep his crops alive. In fact, the old citrus trees on the farm - with very deep roots, are the only things you could genuinely say was surviving.

When he went searching through rain records he became puzzled and perplexed. The property had received more rain during this drought than it did over the millennium dry spell. Between 2004 and 2006 the annual rainfall varied between 526 millimetres and 600mm. In 2018 799mm fell and in 2017 there was 753mm.

Mr Breiner thinks the soil has to be holding less moisture now than it did during the previous drought. When he digs a hole the evidence is there. The soil is moist for only two to three centimetres. After that, it's endless dry dirt. But why is that happening?

Read more: The Big Dry - everything you need to know about the drought

Rewind to the 2016 and 2017 winter season and Mr Breiner's stall at the Slow Food Earth Market in The Levee was brimming with kale, spinach and alternative vegetables like Romanesco Broccoli - famous for its fibonacci spiral, and purple cauliflower.

Now oranges and lemons are the dominant food on his stall, along with a few capsicums, some eggplant and sweet potato.

"Is it the time when the rain falls or is it the higher than average temperatures taking more moisture out of the soil?," he said.

"There is something happening that I haven't got my finger on. I know the amount of evaporation increases exponentially as the temperature warms up.

"The more people you get thinking about things like this the better the chance of being able to explain it and find ways to fix it."

Mr Breiner doesn't have the luxury of controlling his farm environment with irrigation. He has a dam with a little water in it and a few tanks. He cannot irrigate from the river.

Drive 10 kilometres east to the Dennis family farm and winter vegetable production is in full swing.

They have a water license and can irrigate from the Hunter River. As long as the salinity levels are adequate - and restrictions aren't enforced, it's business as usual.

Now the Dennis' are growing the varieties Mr Breiner once had on his stall to keep up the supply to local shoppers.

Mr Breiner has resorted to using an old technique to try to keep what he has alive.

"I chip it with a chipping hoe and then drag a large rake up between the rows to keep the dirt lose around the plants, it's an old wives tale.