HARVEST and hay making are in full swing in Victoria's west, as the disappointing season sprints to a premature end.

While the Wimmera and Mallee have been expecting the worst, Western District crops have also been hit by the dry finish which is seeing some crops cut for hay.

Veteran hay contractor Graham Thomson, from Condah, said he'd finished cutting all his hay in a week, three weeks quicker than usual.

Mr Thomson, who has only received 32mm of rain this spring, tipped southwest hay yields to be a third to half of average.

He said hay production in southeast South Australia would also be below average and there were reports of crops south of Hamilton struggling to fill because of the dry finish.

With stock feeding starting much earlier than usual, Mr Thomson was predicting good demand for hay in coming months.

Southeast South Australian producer Brian Johnson, from Naracoorte, said he'd produced 1200 round bales on irrigation paddocks.

"There's no real feed about and no spring rain but we will get enough to get through to next year," Mr Johnson said.

Victorian Farmers Federation Grains Group vice president Andrew Weidemann, who has started harvesting his lentils, said he was expecting a below average year and a shortage of malting barley.

In North East Victoria, many farmers are expected to sow summer crops on this week's expected rain.

With good subsoil moisture levels in the higher rainfall areas east of Wangaratta, sales of summer forage crop seed have been steady.

Landmark Wangaratta agronomist Chris Howard said early sown forage brassicas had benefitted from the recent rain.

Mr Howard said the rain had also helped cereal crops in the eastern districts to finish maturing.

"Ninety per cent of the canola has been harvested with disappointing oil contents ranging from 32 to 37 per cent, and an isolated crop down as low as 25 per cent."

Once again rain petered out by the time it reached Gippsland, with only light falls of between 3mm and 11mm across the region.

While pastures are holding on in parts of west and South Gippsland where rainfall has been more consistent for spring, those areas still need a few more showers to bump their season along.

Bairnsdale received 8mm and Sale 3mm over the weekend but it did little to settle the dust in East and Central Gippsland, which is in desperate need of rain.

There is little pasture feed left available on dryland country, hay and silage equipment is sitting idle in sheds and more stock has been sent or earmarked for sale.