CBH gave itself plenty of room for adjustment when it declared recently it expected a crops' tally of 8mt-11mt.

But it is likely a revised estimate soon will emphasise more topside, sparking renewed interest in how the company will manage a big harvest.

While the majority of farmers will prefer to wait to hear the dulcet tones of the proverbial fat lady, Mullewa farmer Ian Broad this week declared his crops were "set like jelly" for an above average result.

His sentiment was reflected by a buoyant tone among farmers at social functions last weekend and an increase in phone calls to machinery dealers.

AgServe Goomalling dealer principal Greg Baird said the optimistic mood among farmers had seen many of them calling to plan machinery requirements for next year.

"Everybody knows there's a shortage of gear around so with a hope of a good season guys want to check out what they can get," he said.

"The only downside is fertiliser prices."

Walton's Geraldton branch manager Terry Macanas said rain had triggered farmer inquiry.

"There is a very positive mood out there and farmers are talking about machinery requirements for 2009," he said.

Balla farmer Richard Allen was reluctant to project the outcome of the season.

"The rain keeps coming and crops are looking very good but it's still a long way to harvest," he said.

"So far it has been a perfect season and we're hoping we don't cop a dry spell to muck everything up."

Pindar farmer Peter Barnetson said the northeast Wheatbelt looked "a picture".

"You should come up and have a look now," he said.

"We've had some very handy July rain. It's a long time since crops in the Pindar district looked so good.

"We finished seeding on June 7 and last year we started on that date, so it's hard to contain the excitement.

"We've had 300mm of rain so far and about 130mm in the growing season so the potential is for well above average crops providing everything keeps on track and we don't get frost or diseases."