The heart of this farmer's life and livelihood, the place he has called home for all of his 66 years, was withering. On his property, Combwell, at Halton by the Allyn River, the paddocks were bare, and his cattle were underweight.

And they were the cattle Mr Lawrence had managed to keep in the midst of the worst drought he had ever experienced.

His breeder herd had shrunk from about 90 to just 26, as he sold cows to pay for hay to feed what cattle he had left. But that cycle couldn't continue. He was selling off his future.

"Another couple of months would have destocked us totally," Mr Lawrence recalled.

He could do little but watch his prospects drying up in the drought that had dragged on for three years.

Twelve months on, Peter Lawrence was standing at the same spot on his farm. Only he was looking out on a vastly changed landscape. Sprouting around him was kikuyu grass, lush and green, and with it grew hope.

"It's very comforting," he said. "You think there's a future there.

"Whereas in the middle of the drought, there was just no light at the end of the tunnel. Walking into darkness."

In February, there was some rain. Once the heavens opened, so did that crack of light for Peter Lawrence. He began the slow journey out of the darkness.

Rain through the year has seen the paddocks transformed. With that, the condition of his Angus cattle has improved, and, he pointed out, "kilos add up to dollars".

"We've got 150 kilos more on our cows than what we had in the middle of the drought," Mr Lawrence explained. "And all our calves this year, they're 30 kilos heavier than they would've previously been, because their mums are milking better."

Feeding nearby were nine calves. Another 33 were elsewhere on the 130-hectare property. Those young animals were part of Combwell's future.

Peter Lawrence has decided to gradually restock his herd with what can be bred. Cattle prices are so high, he simply can't afford to buy in animals.

"These cows here are probably worth around $3500 a head," Mr Lawrence said, pointing to the cattle in front of him. "So it's too much money for me to outlay. But there are people buying them at that. Top cows have been making over $4000.

Tony Hegarty, Chair of the Hunter Local Land Services Board and a past president of the Cattle Council of Australia, said those restocking after the drought were a major contributor to the strong market, even in the face of turbulence created by COVID and trade tensions with China.

What's more, in the Upper Hunter, producers were diversifying after the drought.

"A lot of farms that had only cattle are now running sheep and cattle," he said.

The Hegartys' 1000-hectare farm near Cassilis is one of those. Tony Hegarty said the the property had 1000 ewes, and with beef cattle "we've gone from basically zero to 250 cows", having virtually destocked twice during the long drought.

"It comes down to the individual businesses as to how they adapt," Mr Hegarty said of life after the drought.

"Making sure that the business is adaptable to whatever disruption comes, and COVID has driven home that disruption can come in any form."

If the cattle prices remained high into the new year, Peter Lawrence would consider selling a few more cows: "It's really a pretty simple decision for me. If the money's not there in the cows, I'll just keep them."

The road to recovery for the farm itself is long.

For starters, there is maintenance work to be done, as Peter Lawrence didn't have the money to perform tasks such as fencing during the drought. Then there is the drought's ongoing environmental impact. While the surface may be flourishing, Mr Lawrence explained the subsoil moisture was "still not that great". That was evident with how quickly the river dropped when there had been no rain for a while.

However, in recent weeks, there have been good falls adding up to more than 100 millimetres. Peter Lawrence's main dams are almost full, and the Allyn River tracing the edge of Combwell is flowing. And that has allowed Mr Lawrence to enjoy some bass fishing. He can relax a little once more.

"The pressure's off a bit, I suppose," he said. "You're not worried about the next lot of cattle you've got to sell to buy a truckload of hay. Things like that.

"You start out each morning with a little bit more of a positive attitude than what you would do with a drought."

Read more from a year earlier: Taking stock and draining funds, as the drought bites into Hunter farmers

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