The money has returned to farmers in the past five years after the Desert Fringe Regional Waste Group introduced a program in response to farmers' call for better scrap metal prices.

Group executive officer Brian Klemm said many farmers believed they were being short-changed by scrap metal companies.

Mr Klemm said the group reached an agreement with Sims Metal, in Melbourne, to purchase scrap metal and arrange on-farm pick-ups.

"The farmers knew they were getting ripped off," he said.

"They asked us to come up with something, so we approached many scrap metal companies to get the best deal."

Mr Klemm said the response from the community had been magnificent.

"I had one individual call me on the phone and cry, saying this meant the difference between being able to have a holiday or not," he said.

Mr Klemm said he was surprised just how much scrap metal was on farms.

"We are booking trucks to pick up an average of 350 tonnes a month," he said.

Mr Klemm said community groups were also starting to take advantage of the agreement.

"A number of community groups have also taken advantage of the negotiated price and are collecting steel to sell to finance community activities," he said.

"In the past few weeks community groups are also collecting old car and truck batteries which have increased in value because of the increased price of lead."

Mr Klemm said the program benefited the community financially and environmentally.

"Once again this is another success story of recycling and reusing. This has been a terrific service for the farming community. As well as receiving a fair price for their scrap metal in times of desperate need, farmers are able to eliminate vermin habitat," he said.