Forty-eight millimetres of rain fell on his farm last weekend and put much-needed moisture into barren soil.

The ground had become so dry at his Oakhampton property that he had been forced to hand water a small patch of vegetables to keep them alive.

You could dig a deep hole and it was the same story - endless dry dirt.

The downpour has changed everything.

Before it came it was too much of a gamble to plant his spring crops - it would have been a waste of money with no moisture to make the seeds grow.

Now it's guaranteed the seeds will initially flourish. He is preparing to start planting in the next two weeks.

"I looked at the ground a couple of weeks ago and I thought I'm not going to plant, there's no moisture in the soil. But now things have changed," Mr Breiner said.

"This rain will let me plant out the pumpkins and melons and squash and other things and hopefully we will get some follow up rain in about six weeks time to keep them going.

"They'll definitely get out of the ground now and we'll cross further bridges when we come to them.

"The forecast isn't looking great though, but we have to live in hope."

Read more: The Big Dry

Maitland received 44.5 millimetres in the deluge - it's highest monthly rainfall since March when 55mm fell, while some suburbs in Newcastle received well over 100mm.

Weatherwatch meteorologist Don White thought a similar rain event could come in October, but there was no guarantee.

The Bureau of Meterology is predicting warmer than average temperatures and below average rainfall between now and the beginning of summer.

"The rain was so gentle and drizzly that it all soaked in, which was good in a sense, but it did mean that I didn't get runoff into the dam," Mr Breiner said.

All of the Hunter is still in drought, according to the NSW government's Combined Drought Indicator.

Across the state more than 95 per cent is still battling the unrelenting big dry.

The worst affected areas are the Upper Hunter and northern and western NSW.

"The people out west need it more than we do and I'm wondering how long can these people survive in these harsh conditions," Mr Breiner said.

"It's getting worse, the situation is just intensifying. The rain doesn't seem to get that far inland.

"I was talking to a friend who was telling me about a seventh generation farmer who went into his wife one day and said pack your bags we're going to town and they left the farm. He now has a job in town."