When it comes to the drought gripping NSW, Annette Turner is in the thick of it.

As state president of the Country Women's Association, she heads up an influential organisation that is playing a key role with assistance and other measures to help struggling rural communities.

But she also helps manage her family's pastoral property near White Cliffs, in the far west of the state, and has a son and daughter-in-law who are battling the big dry on a neighbouring station.

Ms Turner says there's no doubt some are doing it tough in the west, especially those who go out every day and are "seeing the death" and "smelling the death".

Mentally, that is incredibly stressful and is taking a toll.

But she says the people of the western region are used to dealing with long dry spells, though perhaps not a bad as the current one, and have put strategies and plans in place to better drought proof their operations.

She's supportive of efforts of the NSW government to help local communities both now and in the future, particularly the initiative to set up a grain hub in Parkes where a feed supply will be kept in storage to be used in dry times.

Local banks have also played a key and improving role in helping graziers manage debt, in stark contrast to their attitude during previous droughts.

Mr Turner says local communities in the far west remain optimistic about the future and the recovery of the region once the rain comes.

"We roll with the punches," she said.

"We don't ask for help, because we just get on with it. We don't expect help.

"We bunker down, we deal with it. We take it one day at a time and we don't look too far ahead.

"Things will come good eventually and we'll starting working towards a sustainable future again."

For those in the west, working the land was "in your blood", Ms Turner said and it would take more than a drought for them to leave.

In case of her husband Barry, she said he would continue to live on his sheep property even if he had to survive with just "a hessian sack and bare feet".

"I wasn't born to this but I am extremely privileged to have had this life," she said.

"It develops your character, it gives you strength and it makes you look at the bigger picture."

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Australian Associated Press

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Nyngan Observer

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