While severe frosts have caused yet-to-be determined damage to crops Mr McGrath said many farmers were looking forward to a good spring with rice the crop to grow.

"A lot of crops have been knocked around with the frost, there have been a fair few in a row," Mr McGrath said.

"With the number of frosts it is hard to tell just how much damage has occurred."

Citing canola crops as particularly susceptible to frost damage, Mr McGrath said the survival of crops was largely dependant on where they were planted.

"It's mainly the geography, low lying areas are more susceptible, areas with a rise doesn't get the same frost," he said.

Commenting on the rain, Mr McGrath said the lack of precipitation were concerning.

"We got less than half of what we needed in that last lot," he said.

With harvest yet to come, Mr McGrath said farmers were still in the planning stage of their summer cropping.

"Looking at spring we want to see mild conditions," he said.

"We don't want to see the hot days that dry out the moisture.

"Ideally we want more moisture."

Mr McGrath said there was a fair bit of optimism among farmers especially with good rice prices.

"Alot of farmers are keen to plant rice," Mr McGrath said.

"We had a good start to the year, there was a lot of frost, now we need a good spring."