With the searing heat and drought extending over large swaths of farmland in Suphan Buri, many local farmers see no hope of growing off-season rice crops to sustain their income.
Along irrigation canals in several districts, water pumps are lined up side by side to siphon water into small, feeder canals, where water will be stored for farm use in the next two months.
But there is no telling if the water supply will be enough to last them that long.
Farmers are uncertain whether irrigation authorities would open sluice gates to release more water in the near future as the drought appears to be more severe and it arrived earlier than communities expected.
"Farmers in Nong Yasai and nearby districts knew in advance they might not be able to grow off-season rice two years in a row," Kraison Kaewruang, the 42-year-old village headman of Moo 5 in Nong Yasai district's tambon Nong Pho.
Mr Kraison said not much rain fell this year over the Kra Seaw dam, one of the main water sources.
Even if market sales fetched 10,000 baht per tonne, the risk of planting rice and seeing it wilt from drought is simply too much of a gamble, he said.
"The irrigation authorities wouldn't supply us with water for sure.''
Farmers already have a hard time earning a living because they cannot grow rice year round, yet constantly shoulder their daily living expenses, Mr Kraison said.
Now, growers may have to refrain from working the fields for the next nine months.
They hope the water released from the Kra Seaw dam will be enough to feed livestock or quick-growing crops, which can be eaten or sold on the side to supplement their income, he said.
Mr Kraison said the drought would hit 4,800 rai of sugar cane and rice farms belonging to 156 households in his village.
He said rice and sugar cane need at least four rounds of irrigation water per season — now a pipe dream as the dam is being rapidly depleted of water.
Some growers, he said, are forced to dig wells to get water for their farms.
According to Mr Kraison, an idea was earlier floated that water should be siphoned from the main Srinagarind dam to Doembang Nangbuat and Nong Yasai districts for agricultural use.
It was eventually scrapped as the pipe has to go through a natural World Heritage site where any man-made construction is banned, he said.
Wilaiwan Robkob, a 37-year-old sugar cane grower in tambon Thap Luang of Nong Yasai district, said the drought is particularly severe this year.
She and her neighbours, who own 100 rai of land between them, spent tens of thousands of baht installing pipes to draw water from an irrigation canal several hundred metres away.
The pipe installation is necessary because the irrigation system does not reach his farm, he said. Sugar cane is also affected by drought although it needs less water than rice to grow.
The drought leaves the canes thin and lowers their market value.
"It's even hard now to find water for bathing. Drinking water has to be drawn from our underground water system, which is not ideal," said Ms Wilaiwan.
Pratuan Masomphan, a 42-year-old resident of tambon Talingchan of Muang district, and dozens of his neighbours grapple with siphoning water from the irrigation canal onto their land to feed livestock. The water stock could run out before May, he said.
This is despite the fact that irrigation authorities released water from the Chao Phraya dam to Khlong Makham Thao in Suphan Buri for two days.
"We wouldn't dare grow rice even if the price had gone up," said Mr Pratuan.
"Some people took the risk last year and went broke because there just wasn't enough water," he added.
Mr Pratuan said the tambon administration and irrigation officers are rationing water to prevent community conflicts.
But Pathum Ruennarong, 76, and his wife Prang Srisamran, 79, in tambon Phlapphla of Song Phi Nong district, took the risk and grew rice.
They said they did not know what else to do.
Luckily, their 50-rai rice field leased from a Bangkok landlord is close to a reservoir, though they also worry about the supply as they fear they will run out before they get a chance to harvest.
"Water must be pumped into the rice field every 15 days. We're afraid it may not be enough until harvesting time in May," Mrs Prang said.
Farmers expect yields to drop by 40% this year.
Prices have hit an all-time low, between 6,500-7,000 baht per tonne, while leasing land costs up to 2,500 baht per rai.
"If the prices stay this low, we are in for very meagre profits or even losses," Mrs Prang said.