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Recent rain has grown enough grass on Allan Hills that landholder Tess Pemble has mowed the lawn for the first time in four years. - ABC

Tess Pemble has not mowed her lawn in four years — she has not had a lawn to mow.

But this week the north Queensland grazier started up the ride-on to trim the grassy pastures out the front of her homestead.

Rain has transformed patches of drought-stricken north Queensland — turning barren land into lush pastures.

At the Pemble's property, Allans Hill at Homestead, west of Charters Towers, there is hope on the horizon for a better year.

"Rain is such a great therapy. It does give people hope," she said.

"I actually do have a lawn again. I don't think the lawn mower has ever had so much work in the last four years.

"I rode around the thought 'Oh, wow I actually have a lawn'."

Bureau of Meteorology figures show the Charters Towers region received almost 100 millimetres of rain in January and almost 70 millimetres so far in February.

At Belyando, 170 kilometres south of Charters Towers, farmers reported more than 160 millimetres in just over 24 hours earlier this month.

While the drought is far from broken, it has made a difference in the lives of many graziers.

"It was starting to get so dismal and you really start to think … 'what are we going do to?'," Ms Pemble said.

"We've kept 1,800 head alive and it's been a struggle. It's been pretty hard work and a financial hole in your pocket as well."

Paddocks that have been empty for 11 months are now starting to grow grass again.

"Where it did soak in the grass has started growing, but it had started blowing off," Ms Pemble said.

"We had started worrying that if we didn't get more rain [the grass wouldn't last], and it's only been in the last two inches that it's really boosted the grass.

"Having the thunder and lightning storms — lightning puts the nitrogen back into the soil — gives it a real boost."

But Ms Pemble said she was hoping for more rain and stronger growth before she moved stock back onto the rejuvenated land.

"We won't yet, we've still got three paddocks on agistment and the paddocks that we have empty now we'll leave them for a while longer yet," she said.

"There's still pretty bare patches around as well. We were heading into our fifth year of drought so we've still got a lot of land that has got fairly big bare patches, grass that hasn't come up and seeded."

ABC