This is according to Rural Aid counsellor Gary Bentley, who recently visited Oxley Island and Taree as part of the charity's flood recovery operation.

"With these three disasters in a row, and with covid on top of it, they've been hit hard and the impact has been dreadful," Gary said.

"A lot of them are suffering psychologically and it's the damage that's been done through these disasters which will last with these farmers for a lot of years."

He said the first step for struggling farmers to take is to talk openly about their issues.

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"If you talk about things, you can resolve it," Gary said.

"A lot of these farmers won't be fully impacted until the disaster has passed.

"They're sort of mid-disaster and when the disaster is finished the true psychological impact hits."

Gary agreed the charity will never see the disasters coming.

"We've never seen this before, you just have to be ready for it and work in rural communities," he said.

"We're embedded in those rural communities so we see what's going on around us.

"We're in touch with other organisations that provide aid and assistance so when it hits we're ready for it and respond.

"Generally we are ready for the next disaster and unfortunately there will be more disasters to come."

On a lighter side, Gary said the charity is never short of keen volunteers.

"When we were up at Barraba a couple of weeks ago, we had 63 volunteers and that was one of the biggest turnouts we've had," Gary said.

"There are no shortage of volunteers and there are lots of people out there who have a heart to help and we connect them to the farming communities."

He encouraged any primary producer in distress to register with Rural Aid.

"If they don't register we don't know they're out there and we can't offer assistance when it's needed," Gary said.