Tony Hilder from Wirryilka Station near Menindee. Sheep farmers like the Hilders are enjoying high prices and good rains. Credit:Nick Moir "It's not often that the stars align as they have done so at the moment," says Lachlan Gall from Langawirra Station, north-east of Broken Hill, and the president of the Pastoralists' Association of West Darling, The map showing soil moisture is indigo, denoting above average and record rainfalls across most of Australia, except for apatch of pink in south Western Australia. Not one of Australia's main agriculture areas is in short-term drought, a rare event that last occurred in 2001, says Blair Trewin, the Bureau of Meteorology's senior climatologist. Even the rains of 2010-11 missed major agricultural areas such as south-west Australia. In September, for the time in years, the Bureau of Meteorology didn't produce a drought map because it was not needed. Of course, too much rain is always going to be bad for some crops, and Christmas may be a bit more expensive for shoppers buying potatoes, oysters and cherries.

Mary, Tony and their son Nic Hilder from Wirryilka Station near Menindee. They are fourth and fifth generation wool growers. Credit:Nick Moir In his 25 years in the industry, the chief executive of Meat and Livestock Australia Richard Norton says he has not seen all three commodities – wool, lamb and beef – as strong as they are today. "It is having a major impact for the better," he says. The shearing shed at Wirryilka Station near Menindee. Credit:Nick Moir The mood is buoyant, he says. Land values have also risen, the exchange rate is tolerable, interest rates are low, and the rain has given everyone hope.

Stuart McCullough, the chief executive of industry body Australian Wool Innovation, says it is a "great time for agriculture", except for some croppers. At Wirryilka Station, the Hilder family hope to average $1500 to $1600 a bale of wool. Credit:Nick Moir "It's not often that the stars align" Lachlan Gall Although wool production has been shrinking, demand for Australian wool rose after the resumption of marketing to European garment makers in August 2010. The five-year average price of a kilogram of wool rose from $5.43 in 2005, to $7.30 in 2010, to $10.84 in the period ending 2015, and a further hike to about $13.00 since then. Prices of lamb, beef – although cattle farmers were hit hard by drought – and goat have had similar increases. But don't expect to see farmers spending extravagantly on anything other than staying in business.

McCullough says farmers are frugal by nature, although right now he urges them to "grab that wool cheque" without feeling guilty because times have been so tough. Norton, though, likens Aussie farmers to Brahmin bulls. "They don't exhibit physical attributes of pain, and I think that sums up the Australian farmer. They've been through the depths, they understand how hard things can be. They know that one day you can wake up and you don't have a job, you don't have an income, and your mortgage has gone up three times." Many farmers are taking advantage of the good times to reduce their bank debts. Gall says most graziers in the far west of NSW are investing in their businesses on the back of good returns from wool and livestock, spending on shearing shed renovations, fencing, yard building, implement sheds or replacing old vehicles and machinery.

"I spoke to a fencing contractor recently who has work booked up for the next 12 months," he says. He drove recently from Adelaide to Queensland, and says it has never looked so consistently good. "Local landholders are talking about preparations for the summer bushfire season, which probably only happens once a decade in this area on average." Many farmers are reducing debts. Others are using the federal government's tax friendly farm management deposits. It allows farmers to save for the inevitable downturn by depositing pre-tax income from good years, which they can draw on in future years when they need it. Since 2006, deposits have doubled to $4.3 billion, reaching a high of $5.07 billion in June. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce announced this year a doubling of the maximum amount held by any primary producer to $800,000, saying it "built resilience in the farming community so they put money aside for themselves for when droughts come, for when things get tough".

The Hilders – Tony, Mary and son Nic – spend as much as $300,000 a year in maintaining and improving their property, preparing wells and dams for rains. More recently, they spent $500,000 improving an old shearing shed and building a new one to making shearing less fraught for sheep, and easier on the shearers. Instead of the old noisy shearing sheds, the shed where six shearers work is quiet, nearly meditative, punctuated only by the bleating of sheep and the whirring of fans. Shearers are banned from using radios, dogs are usually not allowed, but when we visit a young pup jumps all over the sheep. The pens are angled so that, when the shearer grabs the sheep, it turns easily without hurting the shearer or itself. The head of the contractor shearing sheep in the refurbished sheds says the conditions are better on Wirryilka than nearly everywhere else. Other than spending on their property, the Hilders are saving. "We are not extravagant people," Hilder says. "We know how to save. You only need another rough dry few years and you can absorb a few costs. We can still make money in a drought. If you do [make preparations for bad times and drought] when it is good, you can afford to go without improvements in a few years."

This year, the family hope to average $1500 to $1600 a bale of wool. The high prices have been a long time coming. "It's something we've waited a long time for. It is something we all work for, and it takes a long time to come together. But we have always had faith in the merino industry and dug our toes in and had a big investment in it, and it has been paid off."