State and Commonwealth agriculture department employees will also join the fight as hatchings begin up to 18 days earlier than initially forecast in parts of NSW.

Within a month many of the egg beds at 980 properties across the State could be hatching because of a relatively mild winter.

Entomologists and locust eradication workers monitoring the beds say conditions have been about two degrees Celsius warmer than usual.

The first hatchings are expected on August 23 in the Far North West in the Wilcannia and Wanaaring areas.

The locusts will progressively emerge further south, with the final hatchings near Wagga Wagga, near the southern NSW border, about October 18.

Mid-September hatchings are expected in the southern half of the Forbes district where locust populations are reportedly highest.

Districts such as Grenfell in the Central West have up to 100 properties where locust activity is expected.

Trent McCann, “Hillside”, Grenfell, sprayed the locusts in April as they reproduced and ate his emerging crops.

“They were laying faster than I sprayed; I was flat out,” he said.

Locusts usually hatch in spring and take between 10 days and three weeks to band together, feasting on crops and pastures before reaching adulthood when they can disperse – flying hundreds of kilometres in a night.

An early frost can wipe them out.

However, Mr McCann felt that after a warm winter it was “only a matter of time” before his family’s 400 hectares of wheat and 140ha of grazing oats were endangered.

“We’ve only had three or four frosts. Normally you can get three or four weeks where the ice is hanging from the fence,” he said.

There is probably enough fenitrothion in NSW for the upcoming battle but more of the spray will be ordered just in case.

RLPB pest manager, Tim Seears, said apart from basic training, workers would receive helicopter safety training after two deaths near Dunedoo during the previous big NSW outbreak in 2004-05.

“Although many of our staff were involved during the 2004-05 plague locust campaign, it’s crucial that everybody is up to date with best management practices to help minimise damage,” he said.

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