CHANGES to federal government drought assistance must not create additional hardships or burden farmers with uncertainty, the National Farmers' Federation says.

Agriculture Minister Tony Burke today foreshadowed an end to the Exceptional Circumstance Interest Rate Subsidy (ECIRS), saying it had often caused more harm than good.

Mr Burke said it had only prolonged difficult situations for some drought-stricken farmers, and flagged transitional arrangements ahead of the payments being scrapped from future drought policy.

NFF president David Crombie said the group was open to reforming relief arrangements, but not for farmers still experiencing drought.

"Drought-stricken farm families are under immense pressure, dealing with devastating circumstances, and it would be unconscionable to pull the rug out from under them," Mr Crombie said.

"A transition to a new policy must be the approach, an arbitrary cut off would be completely unacceptable."

The NFF last month gave Mr Burke a proposed drought relief scheme to run as a pilot program in a drought-free area, provided the current ECIRS remains in place.