The Bartlett family held onto their sheep for as long as they could but the drought was unrelenting, and in December last year they completely de-stocked. Then it rained.

Key points: Rain has brought relief to the Stanthorpe, but drought continues and water continues to be trucked in.

Rain has brought relief to the Stanthorpe, but drought continues and water continues to be trucked in. Record sheep and cattle prices mean graziers would need to spend millions to re-stock.

Record sheep and cattle prices mean graziers would need to spend millions to re-stock. Warwick's Lesley Dam has begun releasing water to irrigators after significant inflows.

"Bittersweet, I suppose," is how wool producer Matt Bartlett described it.

When the climate permits, Mr Bartlett and his family run up to 15,000 merino sheep on their Dunblane property, west of Warwick in southern Queensland.

"One and a half million dollars to get back in, just to get back to where we were. So it's going to be difficult," Mr Bartlett said.

"With sheep prices and cattle prices and everything going through the roof a little bit the moment, we're keen to sort of sit back a little bit and see where it all ends up."

Jess Bartlett says the drought put great pressure on her family. ( ABC Southern Queensland: Nathan Morris )

They've had more rain this year than they had all of last year, and the hard, traprock country now has a green tinge. But the last couple of years have been hard on the young family.

"It was flat-out all day, and then coming home and, trying to take the burden off [wife] Jess as much as I could, but I was also shattered, too," Mr Bartlett said.

"So we're all sort of a bit burnt out to be honest.

"It was also a relief of getting rid of all the sheep. We could actually just have some family time."

After failed summer rainfall, the Bartlett family were feeding sheep around the clock during the 2019 winter. ( ABC: Nathan Morris )

In the middle of it all, Ms Bartlett gave birth to their second daughter.

"We were all in survival mode," she said.

"I had a four-day-old baby, and he had to come home and set up feed lots and basically keep the sheep alive.

"I basically just had to accept that and deal with it on my own."

Matt Bartlett says the upside of completely de-stocking late last year was that he had more time to spend with his young family. ( ABC Southern Queensland: Nathan Morris )

The greener paddocks and easy smiles between the couple today, perhaps blur the strain of their recent situation.

"I would wake up every day and just face the day as it came. Every day was different. I never knew what Matt was doing," Ms Bartlett said.

"He'd be gone before the girls got up. He'd be back when the girls were asleep."

'We used up all of Plan B'

Further south from the Bartlett's, Helen and Andrew Ferrier produce lamb and run a tourism business.

To look at their property today, the endless green paddocks look anything but drought-affected, but just weeks ago, they were dusty and grey.

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"The drought certainly went longer than we ever anticipated, than anything we've experienced before," Ms Ferrier said.

"So that was very difficult, I think we used up Plan B."

The couple used to produced organic lambs, but they had to relinquish their certification after being unable to source organic feed.

Old shearers' accommodation on the farm was transformed into a holiday cottage, but the drought worsened, the media focused on the water shortage, and people stopped coming.

"They all thought that we didn't have enough water for them," Ms Ferrier said.

"So yeah, tourist numbers certainly dropped as well."

While the couple continue to evaluate their business model, tourist numbers have picked up.

"It got to a worrying point, but [I can] happily report that they're coming back in droves, actually," Ms Ferrier said.

Knee-high grass now blankets the previously dusty sheep yards at Helen and Andrew Ferrier's farm. ( ABC Southern Queensland: Nathan Morris )

The drought has forced the couple to reflect on their future livelihood

"When you have a big disruption to your life, it's a really good time to re-evaluate what you truly value, and how you want to move ahead," Ms Ferrier said.

No income in some parts for five years

Southern Downs Mayor Tracy Dobie is a sixth-generation local, and says the effect of drought on residents has been profound.

"Over some parts of that region, there's been almost no rain, therefore no income for five years," she said.

"Other parts of our region have been affected seriously for three, and other parts for about a year.

"So gradually the drought has taken its toll on residents."

Southern Downs Mayor Tracy Dobie says the past year has been an intense time for the community. ( ABC Southern Queensland: Nathan Morris )

Over the past two months, storms have finally eventuated and summer rainfall has returned.

In 2019, Stanthorpe recorded just 257 millimetres for the entire year, this year they have already had 278 millimetres.

Every day, 14 truckloads of water were being carted to Stanthorpe to meet the 1.3 million-litre requirement of the community. ( ABC News: Nathan Morris )

Trucking water continues

In January, Stanthorpe began trucking water full-time to supply drinking water to residents, after their main reservoir, Storm King Dam reached a critically low level.

Despite recent rain in parts of the region, that emergency measure continues.

"Unfortunately, there has been almost no inflow into Storm King Dam," Cr Dobie said.

"We have about three months worth of water holding."

Local charities have been set up to coordinate the supply of donated drinking to residents of Stanthorpe. ( ABC News: Nathan Morris )

Residents in Stanthorpe and surrounding communities are still on critical water restrictions, limiting use to 100 litres of water per person, per day.

Extra bores in the region are being planned, and a feasibility study is underway, looking into a pipeline that would connect the Southern Downs to the Toowoomba water grid.



Meanwhile, irrigators with water allocations near Warwick are finally getting what they have paid for, after Leslie Dam filled beyond the 15 per cent threshold.

This week, the dam's operator Sunwater began releasing water downstream for farmers.

Inflows into Warwick's Leslie Dam reached the point where water was finally able to be released to irrigators this week. ( ABC Southern Queensland: Nathan Morris )

Back on Dunblane, Jess Bartlett is keen to remind everyone that while 2020 has had a better start it'll take a long time to recover.

"A lot of people out there may think that now that it's rained, the drought is over," Ms Bartlett said.

"Yes, it's rained, we've got green grass, and we're seeing the vegetation recover, but financially, it's going to take a few years for them to recover, and emotionally as well."