Local farmers have had a mixed reaction to the declaration of the first El Nino event in eight years by the Bureau of Meteorology earlier this week.
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She Oaks farmer Peter Stray, who runs Angus cattle and superfine Merinos said "the writing had been on the wall for a while" and was preparing possible drought-like conditions over the next year.
He said he wouldn't be surprised if Victoria had a 50 degree day in the upcoming months.
"I was just looking at rainfall records and June was the last average month of rain we've had and it's been very dry since," Mr Stray said.
"So, we've already done a bit of destocking, and have got rid of all our old stock as much as we can.
"We're back to breeders and just a few wethers."
He said that Australian farmers generally have experience with drought and should always be prepared to make critical decisions.
"If you look at the saleyard prices of livestock, there's a lot of people doing the same thing," he said.
"We've all been burnt before.
"Preparing early is definitely the mindset, so we've already bought a bit of grain, and I'll be looking to buy some more.
"It's not going to be enough to get us through so hopefully there'll be some locally that we can grab when they start cutting."
Mr Stray said he had observed weather patterns closely, as it became more critical for his farming decision-making over the years.
If about 50 millimetres of rain fell in his region in the next few weeks, he said there still was a possibility of having a good season, but "all indicators are pointing the other way".
"Particularly if we have to further destock over any drought conditions and then coming out of the drought, and there's not enough livestock on the ground we might get into some cropping again," Mr Stray said.
"I tend to be a bit of a risk averse person, so I tend to try not gamble too much on farm because the last drought, it got very hard and both financially and mentally having to try and source feed all the time.
"We've decided that we weren't going to go through that, again."
Windemere winegrower Michael Unwin said he may experience different outcomes due to the El Nino weather pattern.
Mr Unwin, who had a "challenging couple of years" due to high rainfall the last two years, said the dry season could have some positive outcomes for his grapes.
"We have a good amount of soil moisture, and a hot summer in Ballarat isn't particularly challenging compared to a hot summer, say, in Mildura," he said.
"But while it won't be all bad, [farmers] really need to notice the climate changes which are happening," he said.
However, Mr Unwin said hotter weather would have some impact on grapes being grown in the Grampians and Pyrenees regions.
But despite the predicted dry weather not having as much effect on his farming, he said he was not getting complacent.
"For us at the moment, dams are full and there's a supply of irrigation water from that, so that will get us through," he said.
"But it only takes one event, whether it be high winds or hail to have a huge impact.
"For example everything can keep standing in a gale wind, but if that gale becomes 50 per cent harder for just 20 minutes, it can just be devastating."
