Only 26.8mm of rain has fallen in the Taieri in the past 30 days, and almost 80% of that came in a deluge on New Year's Eve.
The hot and dry conditions are starting to affect contractors as grass dries out and work dries up.
Marshall Ag and Baleage owner Peter Marshall said the situation was starting to pinch.
''Farmers are being very conservative with their feed and what they are doing with it.''
Despite being ''run off our feet'' at the start of the season, work was starting to slow down.
''It would be one of the driest [seasons] I have seen yet. If we don't get rain in the next week, there will be no regrowth.
''If we don't get rain, everything comes to a halt. We have got to find other work and move on.''
Finding supplementary feed also presented difficulties, he said.
Otago Rural Support Trust trustee Mike Lord, of Outram, said Taieri agriculturalists had a perfect start to the season, although it was quickly turning.
''We have had an exceptional start up until this point. It's starting to dry at the moment.''
He believed farmers at Middlemarch were starting to sweat as the hot weather and dry conditions continued.
''They definitely are dry,'' he said.
''If we get another six weeks of dry, it could get pretty ugly.''
Flett Contractors owner Justin Flett said a ''very busy'' season had quickly turned into a worrying one.
''With this dry weather kicking in, the days of working are pretty numbered,'' he said.
''There's major concerns for sheep and beef, and dairy farmers with winter crops that haven't struck properly yet.''
High debt levels and lower production were affecting farmers and, in turn, all those in the agricultural sector, he said.
''To save the day, it needs to [rain heavily] now because we are a good six weeks earlier drying off than usual,'' he said.
''If six weeks roll around and we haven't got rain, things are going to be desperate.''
Many farmers and contractors would ''struggle to get their head above water again after a bad hit like this'', he said.
However, some were pleased with the way the season was tracking and sharemilker Cam Edgecombe, of Berwick, said he was having a ''very good season from a production point of view''.
The land he was farming was helping him cope with the conditions.
''We are on a more suitable soil type for the conditions,'' he said.
''We are not feeding supplements yet. A lot of people are, but we certainly aren't.
''Production levels are well up and last year was a good year so I'm happy with the way things are going.''
While conditions were dry, he was ''fairly comfortable with how we are set up''.
