A struggling farmer who was left with no choice but to shoot his mob of 1,200 starving sheep and bury them on his drought-stricken property, will no longer have to kill his beloved livestock.

Les Jones, a sheep farmer in Goolhi, New South Wales' drought declared north-east, said the mass shooting was his only option because the land was too dry to produce food, there was no money to pay for it, and the sheep were too weak to be sold off to the market.

With 10 sheep dying from starvation each day, he said shooting them was also the most humane option.

Since going public with his plight on Sunday, thousands of Australians reached out to offer whatever they could to help save the struggling family and its livestock.

Goolhi sheep farmer Les Jones (pictured) said he had no choice but to shoot his sheep - but thanks to donations flooding in, his stock have a new chance at life

Les Jones' wife Laura said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support she received.

'I've cried a thousand tears of joy this morning, you'd think I would have flooded our barren farm,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

'I can't remember the last time I felt so overwhelmed with joy and so humbled.'

The support was a welcome relief for the Jones family, who has struggled to keep their property running in harsh drought conditions.

Farming charity Aussie Helpers founder Brian Egan, who has worked closely with the family, said the donations were the difference between life and death.

'They won't have to shoot the sheep. We'll have three road trains of barley for farmers in Goolhi within 10 days,' he said.

He said the donations would go a long way to buy increasingly scarce hay and increasingly expensive grain.

Les Jones is pictured feeding grain to his starving sheep on their drought-stricken property

Laura Jones (centre) and her daughter Lilly (right) talk with Aussie Helpers volunteer Krystal (left)

Mrs Jones said 'words can't express how grateful we are for this kind of support'.

'All of our feed options are almost completely gone, so for something like this to come along and help keep us going is really something special,' she told the NV Independent.

Before their story went public, the Jones family was working round-the-clock to keep their stock alive.

Mrs Jones even brought the weakest lambs inside the home, where she cared for them day and night.

As a result, their home was badly soiled.

Mrs Jones (with daughter Lilly and volunteer Krystal) said 'words can't express how grateful we are for this kind of support'

Mrs Jones even brought the weakest lambs inside the home, where she cared for them day and night (a lamb in poor condition is pictured at the property)

Rural Aid's Buy a Bale charity said they had enough donations to fund a small working bee at the Jones' home to replace the carpet and refurbish the homestead to its former glory.

While heartbreaking, the Jones family's plight is not unique.

The family is just one of many across the nation working tirelessly to keep their stock alive and business afloat.

The drought has ravaged large parts of New South Wales, forcing farmers to fork out thousands of dollars to keep their stock alive.

The added financial pressure forced many to close up shop altogether.

While heartbreaking, the Jones family's plight is not unique (deceased sheep are pictured at the Goolhi property)

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said the first three months of 2018 were the driest NSW had experienced for more than 30 years.

With conditions worsening across the nation, the drought has not been contained to NSW.

BOM said the drought, dubbed the Millennium Drought, was starving land right across the country.

Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane were all affected by persistent or periodic episodes.

A sheep rummages for food in an empty grain bucket at the Goolhi property in New South Wales' north-east

'The drought conditions were particularly severe in the more densely populated southeast and southwest, and severely affected the Murray-Darling Basin,' BOM said.

'Most particularly in the southwest where winter drying has persisted for more than four decades.'

Calls for the federal government to take action have flooded in.

'This is so so so sad. Brokenhearted for the farmers and for the animals. Extremely angry that the government helps and supports methadone and injecting rooms and our poor farmers are giving up their livelihoods,' one commenter said.

'Such a sad, desperate situation.'