Robert de Veau, a former merino stud manager, Robert Johnson, a third-generation cattle farmer, and John Harvey, an experienced sheep and cattle farmer, have been friends for more than 40 years.
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All are affected by drought.
These men gather at Anzi's Armidale Coffee House every Thursday to talk about how they have survived previous dry periods.
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John Harvey, who has just turned 87, believes that modern developments have helped to combat this drought.
"Now, we have trucks to move hay, and trucks to move water," he said. "Back in the day, there was nothing like that to help.
"Mind you," he continued, "this is the longest period of drought that we've had."
Since pastures cannot support stock, the farmers must put aside money to meet the expenses of feeding their animals. This is standard practice; during the great Australian drought of 1982-83, the worst of the 20th century, for instance, the farmers fed their stock with sheep nuts and hay brought up from Tamworth.
Waiting for stock feed to arrive, however, has become difficult, Mr Harvey said. He has ordered sheep nuts (supplementary high-protein pellets used when pastures cannot support livestock) - but they won't arrive until September.
Mr Johnson has been told that grain and cotton seed will be brought in from Canada to help the situation.
Things could be worse, though. Before the introduction of super-phosphate in the 1950s, the land was nutrient-poor, with only 2 per cent protein.
Their knowledge goes back more than a century. 62-year-old Mr Johnson, for instance, is the third generation of his family to farm at "Sabroun"; his parents lived there until they were nearly 100, and he remembers his father talking about the Federation drought of 1902.
Mr de Veau, 93, worked as a drover from the 1940s. Aged 20 in 1946, he brought 200 cattle up to Ben Lomond from Wingen. "High delicate outline of bony shapes, wincing under winter," he said, quoting Judith Wright's poem about the New England hivernal landscape.
The owner was J.P. Abbott, Member for New England at the time. "We could whistle up a truck and a train for part of the trip back," Mr de Veau remembered.
He lost the sight of one eye due to a farm accident, but continued with rural studies so that he could manage farms - including "Warrane", a property that regularly exhibited stud merinos at the Armidale Show.
In the extreme drought of 1965-68, the farmers had trouble holding onto their stock. Mr de Veau had to water the stock from Boorolong Creek, west of Armidale, but moving water to sheep and cattle was difficult.
As the three leave the coffee shop, they agree that getting their council rates paid would be a relief for farmers affected by the drought.
"I can't understand why the drought relief doesn't go in part to the local council to pay our rates," Mr Johnson said. "Now, that would be a great help!"
