Some are hoping this week will provide the much needed rain to properly kick off sowing season, while others have already started getting into the swing of things.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster for Victoria Michael Efron said a deep low pressure system was due to cross much of the state on Wednesday and Thursday.

Horsham farmer Tim Rethus said his family had started sowing at their properties on April 2.

"This is the earliest we've ever started. We were just ready for the season and there's more benefit in going early than late. We're about halfway done now and hope to be finished by mid-May," he said.

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Mr Rethus said last year's harvest had provided a "mixed bag" of results.

"It was good considering the rainfall, but we weren't really able to take advantage of the good prices. We have average hopes this year," he said.

Horsham farmer Peter Moore said he was yet to start sowing.

"We usually don't sow until we get a big rain, so we're really hanging out for that. A lot of people have been dry sowing, but we really need that big rain so the weeds can come up and we can kill them before sowing," he said.

Ross Johns farms west of Warracknabeal and said conditions were very dry around his area, but had started sowing about a month ago.

"We've been sowing some vetch, barley and just started wheat. There is some sub-soil moisture which is positive," he said.

"If we can get average rain from now until the end of the season, we will get an average or better crop. But we've just to get that rainfall to get it all happening. I think it will be close to the middle or end of May before we see any big rain events."

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Mr Johns said he harvested everything he cropped last year.

"Not everyone would be able to say that so we were very lucky. The prices were also really good, so we're going reasonably confident into this year providing we get average rainfall," he said.

Tarranyurk farmer Marshall Rodda said he had started sowing vetch and barley for sheep feed.

"Then we'll go onto to sow either wheat or barley - I haven't quite made up my mind yet. It depends on whether there's any rain coming out of this front," he said.

"We'll keep dry sowing if it doesn't rain much. Dry sowing has become a part of our program over the last few years.

"Our hopes are the same for every year - we just want a good harvest. Last year it varied and we had a reasonably good season."

Mr Rodda said sowing started just before Easter.

Kaniva farmer Sam Eastwood said he hadn't started sowing yet, but was planning to this week.

"We're using a new air seeder so we've had to set that up. I was hoping we would have sown vetch for hay by now," he said.

"It's the perfect time now to be sowing canola, we're just waiting for some moisture. We do a bit of dry sowing and we're hoping to dry sow about 30 per cent this year, but that will depend on the rain."

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Mr Eastwood said farmers were nervous about when the next big rain event would be after this week's predicted downpour.

"The worry is that we don't know what we're going to get another one," he said.

Crop Opti Services agronomist Matt Beddison has clients across the Wimmera and southern Mallee. He said his advice to farmers varied from area to area.

"Attitudes are varying across the region. You can't put too much into what the forecast is predicting and people seem to be more conservative this year coming off a poorer season," he said.

"It's a hard position when it's like this. The weather forecasts seem to be less and less reliable these days, so it's hard to base decisions off that.

"A lot of it is based around growers' experiences and what they are comfortable with, whether it's doing a more conservative rotation or deciding to start dry sowing."

Birchip Cropping Group chief executive Chris Souness said farmers in the southern Mallee and northern Wimmera had started seriously thinking about sowing in early April.

"They have just been ramping up since then. We had a significant rain event just before Christmas which means there has been good sub-soil moisture," he said.

"The feeling at the moment is that if they can get the crops out of the ground, and the roots down to the sub-soil moisture, they have a chance for a reasonable season.

"Farmers are optimistic about a reasonable season, but also realistic - there's a long time between now and December."

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