Farmers have welcomed the Berejiklian government's $500 million in extra farm aid but warn that more help is likely to be needed before the statewide drought breaks.

The package includes freight subsidies totalling as much as $20,000 per farm - backdated to January 1 - to help farmers cope with the rising cost of transporting fodder and water, and trucking livestock to alternative pastures.

Nicky Kirkby, whose family runs a mostly cotton and wheat farm at Bellata near Moree in the state's north, said the aid would be helpful but would likely fall short of the needs of many farmers.

"I don't think the government really gets the scale and magnitude of the issue," Ms Kirkby said. "Where are farmers going to find the money to buy the feed?"