Western Australia Country Hour: Recent Episodes
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Hosted by Belinda Varischetti, the presenter of the Western Australian Country Hour, the country's finest hour
The state's main grain handler, the CBH Group, is hopeful a global certification system will be modified to recognise Australia's sustainability rules and keep a $25 per tonne premium for WA grown canola.
President of the WAFarmers grains section says many WA grain growers will not comply with a certification system this season, which means they could miss out on a $25 per tonne premium for canola.
Just over twelve months after re-opening it is understood that Shark Lake Abattoir in Esperance will close.
WA meat processor V&V Walsh will increase its lamb processing numbers by 5, 000 a week, a production increase of close to 25 per cent, starting tomorrow.
The ongoing lumpy skin disease trade disruption to Indonesia, has seen live cattle exports out of the Broome Port drop by more than 50 per cent this season.
Over the last few months the price differential between genetically modified canola and non GM canola has closed, and this week the price was on par, with both trading for around $800 a tonne.
A quarantine area has been declared for the Pilbara's Burrup Peninsula to eradicate the exotic pest, the red dwarf honey bee.
Indonesia has advised Australia that eight additional positive tests for Lumpy Skin Disease have been recorded in Australian cattle post arrival in Indonesia.
A Kimberley pastoralist has had enough of people randomly lighting fires and is calling on the government to act.
A dramatic fall in farmgate lamb values should result in cheaper supermarket meat prices in coming months, according to a prominent West Australian sheep processor.
Livestock shipping company Wellard has recorded a net loss after tax of US$15.5 million.
The Australian Livestock Exporters Council says it's concerned by the footage aired on ABC TV's 7:30 last night, allegedly showing Australian sheep being sold, handled and slaughtered in violation of Australian regulations.
Australia's mining industry has an image problem. That's according to resources veteran Jim Pollock who has worked everywhere from BHP to Bloomberg and now runs a mining consulting business.
Dry conditions across much of the state's grain growing regions has stripped about one million tonnes off WA's total grain yield potential, with the current harvest estimate sitting at 17 million tonnes.
Pilbara pastoralist Michael Thompson says the cattle industry is on the brink of disaster with authorities now a month into the process of trying to prove to Indonesia that Australia is free of Lumpy Skin Disease.
New fishing laws a decade in the making have been put on hold by the Western Australian government just months before they are due to come into force.
Is Western Australia doing enough to foster good trade relationships with Indonesia? (A country tipped to have the fourth strongest economy in the world by 2050)
Western Power will be appearing in court next week over alleged breaches of the Electricity Regulations Act relating to a fire in WA's grainbelt.
Two former police officers have traded in a life of crime for a life of slime, hoping to establish one of Western Australia's only commercial snail farms in the South West.
Western Australians could soon be paying more for mangoes because interstate growers might have to use a more expensive form of treatment to prevent Queensland fruit fly from crossing the border.
Western Australian farmers should expect delays on the arrival of new agricultural machinery for at least the next year.
Malaysia has temporarily suspended all imports of Australian cattle and buffalo because of concerns around lumpy skin disease.
The town of Mingenew, 360 kilometres north of Perth, is celebrating its 40th Mingenew Expo.
WA Premier Roger Cook has confirmed his government will scrap its controversial Aboriginal Cultural Heritage legislation.
President of WAFarmers John Hassell says a meeting with the Premier and aboriginal affairs minister this morning has not eased concerns about the state's aboriginal cultural heritage laws
$20 million, that's how much Australian grain breeders miss out on in unpaid end point royalties every year.
A South Korean Energy Consortium is pursuing plans to build a green ammonia plant using renewable hydrogen near Geraldton.
The Western Australian government is prepared to ban alcohol from mine sites if companies don't make a concerted effort to tackle sexual harassment and bullying in the mining industry.
The Indonesian government has suspended imports of live cattle from four Australian export facilities, following the detection of the virus Lumpy Skin Disease in livestock shipped from Australia.
A new 580 kilometre gas pipeline has been officially opened by state energy minister Bill Johnson.
The GRDC has announced it will invest more than a billion dollars over the next five years in research, development, and extension for the nation's grains industry.
There's some more rain on the way today for parts of the state's agricultural region and while some farmers have had quite enough for now, others are hoping for a decent downpour.
Federal Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says the government's plan to phase out the live sheep export trade could be stymied if cross-bench senators are educated about the trade.
The Federal Government's $215 million offer to settle the cattle industry's class action against the 2011 ban on live exports to Indonesia has been rejected for a second time.
Cattle producers supplying live export markets are hoping a huge correction in cattle prices will stimulate more interest from key export markets, like Indonesia.
Russia has doubled down on a decision to end a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports.
Scott River dairy farmer, Ross Woodhouse, was fined $10,000 in 2018 after building a dam which impacted a site of cultural significance.
Russia has withdrawn from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a pact brokered between Ukraine and Russia by the United Nations and Türkiye 12 months ago, which allowed food to be exported from Ukrainian ports during the ongoing war.
Lobby group, WAFarmers, is concerned a fresh inquiry into the APVMA could erode the chemical regulator's independence and see future decisions on the use of chemicals, like glyphosate, subject to government and public opinion, rather than science.
Canola has begun flowering in the south of Western Australia, much earlier than typical for the region, amid estimates of an 18 tonne grain crop for 2023/24.
Australia's agriculture ministers have agreed on Australia's first National Agricultural Traceability Strategy.
Farmer group, Grain Growers, says China's request for more time to consider the ongoing dispute over barley tariffs is nothing to worry about, and it remains confident a resolution will be reached.
Some south coast farmers have copped an absolute drenching over the past month and paddocks are covered in puddles.
One of the biggest players in WA's fruit and vegetable industry is, for the first time, investing and expanding its business with hot houses.
Head of the livestock shipping company Wellard says he doesn't see any upside in export cattle prices.
The West Australian Pork Producers Association says it's disturbing to learn about the deaths of hundreds of pigs on a property in WA's wheatbelt.
Animal Welfare Inspectors are responding to an incident involving the management of pigs at a property in the Wheatbelt.
Telstra has become the first telco in the world to partner with Starlink, signing a deal to provide voice and fixed broadband services in regional and remote Australia.
Wool producers say Western Australia's $655 million wool industry will suffer 'catastrophic' consequences if the Federal Government closes the sheep live export trade.
A former Nationals MP says to protect the state's meat and wool industries, the WA Government needs to step in and become the regulator for the live export industry.
The price of fine wool is down 40 per cent compared to five years ago, and wool brokers say low value wool is being dumped into landfill because it's not worth the cost of storage.
A Broome-based transport company says the closure of the dual-lane causeway at Fitzroy Crossing due to recent rainfall will cause significant delays to their operations.
A grain industry analyst thinks CBH is making a sound investment in the future, with its decision to invest more than $400 million on new locomotives and wagons.
The start of NAIDOC week has been celebrated with the transfer of one of Tasmania's biggest Sheep stations to a local indigenous group.
A near $1 billion contract has been awarded to Primero Group as part of the expansion of Kalgoorlie's Super Pit gold mine.
The state's main grain handler, the CBH Group, will spend $400 million on 17 new locomotives and 650 grain hopper wagons.
The state government's announcement of an implementation group to address any issues arising from the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act has been labelled a 'backflip' by the opposition and the PGA has celebrated it as a 'win' for the farm sector.
The Premier Roger Cook has confirmed there will be no delay to the implementation of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, which starts on Saturday July 1.
The architect of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act says the current debate about the Act and its implementation on July 1 has become hysterical.
After a slow start to the season, growers on the South Coast are finally enjoying some decent rainfall, with totals above 50mm recorded in the region.
The state's main grain handler, the CBH Group, has retained its number one position as Australia's largest co-operative with a turnover of $6.23 billion for the fiscal year 2021, and a net profit of almost $500 million.
WA's mining and resources sector contributed 99 billion dollars to Australia's economy in 2021-22, according to a survey of members of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia.
An Aboriginal Corporation working to become a Local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Service says it will have a transition program ready ahead of the implementation of the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act this weekend.
Former Labor leader and Primary Industries minister, Simon Crean, is being remembered as a man of great integrity, who made Australia "a better and fairer country".
Australia's first soil carbon credits have been granted under the new 2021 methodology.
The Pastoralists and Graziers Association says momentum is growing for a farmer rally on the steps of parliament house, to protest against the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act (ACHA), due to start on July 1, but due to the liability and risks associated it will not be held.
There was a heated exchange in WA Parliament question time over the new ACHA.
The PKKP Aboriginal Corporation says the debate over the ACHA has become "sidetracked", and the act should "not be delayed".
More than 150 people attended an information session on the ACHA in Karridale, south of Perth.
A Great Southern wine producer is calling for a review into Western Australia's prescribed burning practices, meanwhile others would like to see more prescribed burning in the state.
The US regulator has approved chicken products made in a lab out of chicken cells, but a researcher says the industry still has huge hurdles to overcome in Australia.
Northern WA's aquaculture and recreational fishing industry is concerned by a proposal to close Broome's North Regional TAFE aquaculture centre by the end of 2023.
The gap between livestock prices in WA and the eastern states is narrowing and reducing opportunities for local producers to sell stock interstate.
The United Kingdom's only superfine merino wool grower is considered unique by her neighbours.
Western Australia's two key farm lobby groups say a string of state and federal government legislation, with implications for the agricultural sector, has lead to an increase in enquiries about membership.
A massive cropping and livestock portfolio with properties across rural Victoria and Western Australia's South Coast could sell for as much as $400 million, with strong interest from US-based pension funds.
The price of glyphosate has fallen to below $4 per litre, after reaching as high as $12 per litre during the COVID pandemic.
The late pastoralist and horse trainer, Don Hammarquist, has been remembered as a 'true statesman'.
A major global mining conference being held in Karratha this week is looking closely at the livability and sustainability of mining communities.
Mining giant, Rio Tinto, believes a track fault is the most likely cause of a recent train derailment in the Pilbara.
Nearly 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for the new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws to be delayed by six months - a new record for Western Australia.
Premier Roger Cook does not expect the 30,000 signatures to delay the implementation of the Act.
CEO of the National Native Title Council, Jamie Lowe, says there are kinks to iron out, but he would like to see the Act implemented from 1 July.
Aboriginal Elder, Aubrey Lowe, has decades of experience assessing important sites, and says the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act should be delayed until the new laws are clarified.
Australia's cattle herd is projected to reach its highest level in a decade, according to a new report by Meat and Livestock Australia.
The Philippines is set to start exporting mangoes to Australia for the first time, but details are limited on just how many are due to arrive in the coming weeks.
It's been a frustrating start to winter for some sheep producers on the south coast, who are hoping for more rainfall.
A group of about 20 representatives from the WA sheep supply chain are at parliament house today, calling on state MPs to pressure the federal government on its policy to shut down the live sheep trade by sea.
The federal government's policy to end the live sheep trade by sea has inspired Tambellup sheep farmer, Andrew Bradshaw, to write a song titled "The Phase Out".
.Andrew and Tess Herbert are the 13th winners of the Kondinin Group and ABC Rural Australian Farmer of the Year award.
The Independent Panel which will report to Agriculture minister Murray Watt on the phase out of live export of sheep by sea is meeting in Geraldton this morning.
The Carnarvon Growers Association says producers in the region are incredibly anxious about the implications of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, and are concerned there will be no translator at the workshop for the region's Vietnamese growers.
Elders managing director, Mark Allison, says he delayed his recently announced retirement plans after the board convinced him to stay on.
Life is about to dramatically change for some of Australia's most isolated Indigenous communities, following a billion dollar investment in the Outback Way.
The Boyanup Saleyards could have a new home, in plans from the Shire of Capel to develop a new agribusiness precinct in the district.
A machinery collector is fighting to stop the export of a vintage tractor, which he says should never have received federal approval for export.
There are now over 22,000 signatures on a petition calling for a delay to the implementation of the Aboriginal and Cultural Heritage Act, however the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs says it will not be delayed.
More than 200 people turned up for an education workshop on the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act in Geraldton yesterday.
Global agribusiness' Bunge and Viterra, have agreed to a merger. The deal will create a $34 billion-US dollar global grain giant.
The minister for Aboriginal Affairs Tony Buti says the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act will commence, as planned, on the first of July.
Unions and farmers are at odds over changes to the way foreign workers are employed on Australian farms.
WA's biggest sheep meat processor WAMMCO says the Katanning plant must shut down for a two week maintenance period despite a huge demand from producers to process more sheep.
The panel tasked with assessing the best way to transition out of the live sheep trade by sea has received over 4, 000 submissions.
The bureau has moved from an El Niño watch to an alert, meaning there's around a 70 per cent chance of an El Niño developing this year.
Western Australian sheep and goat producers now have access to discounted electronic identification tags, which will become mandatory on January 1 2025.
Some news reports from China are suggesting heavy rain events over the past few weeks have wiped-off around 20 million tonnes of the wheat crop.
The Pastoralists and Graziers Association says it's no surprise the state government wants to change WA's "property letter" system as part of the state's gun law reform.
There has finally been some rain in parts of the south west land division and there's more on the way for some areas.
Western Australia's farming community is ready for a fresh start and hopes the Premier's shock resignation marks the start of a new and improved relationship between the farm sector and the state government.
The Western Australian state government says it will be cracking down on the state's "property letter" system as part of changes to gun laws.
One of the country's biggest wool exporters says the significant drop in this week's wool price is due to a lack of demand from Australia's key market, China.
The Pastoralists and Graziers Association says the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, due to commence on July first, is the greatest assault on farming and private property rights since Federation.
The Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia has just announced a four year, $8 million investment into cotton, grain and cattle production in northern Australia.
Australia's Energy Infrastructure Commissioner says an increasing number of concerns are coming across his desk about wind and solar farm operations.
It's a real mixed bag of seasonal conditions for WA grain growers who are starting to wrap up their seeding programs for 2023.
Global oil gas and energy giant BP has snapped up a farming property in the Midwest, as part of its hydrogen plans in the area.
A Chinese ban on Australian timber imports has been lifted, marking another diplomatic break through following a lengthy trade dispute between both nations.
A Western Australian sheep producer says the potential re-opening of the Saudi Arabian export trade is great news for the industry.
The head of the company which buys most of WA's live sheep says the number of livestock heading to the Middle East could dramatically increase, as early as next year, with the Saudi Arabian market on the verge of re-opening, just as the federal government is planning to end the trade.
The state government has shelved plans to build a $10 million fin fish nursery in Geraldton.
The shadow treasurer Steve Thomas says there's not much in the state budget for rural and regional Western Australians.
Supermarket giant Coles has teamed-up with two local producers to launch its own carbon neutral beef brand in WA.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has defended the Federal Government's plan to charge primary producers a new levy to help contribute to biosecurity in Australia.
Meat analyst Simon Quilty says the economics of Indonesia importing cattle from Brazil, rather than Australia, don't stack-up.
The state's largest integrated pork supplier, Linley Valley, says it's frustrated by visa processing delays that are preventing more than 30 much-needed meat workers from entering Western Australia.
The WA Fishing Industry Council is concerned the state government's marine park policies are being set by the Pew Foundation, which WAFIC describes as "US eco-lobbyists."
Meat from feral camels culled on a remote Western Australian cattle station is now being turned into pet food.
A WA pastoralist, who runs several cattle stations across the Kimberley, says much tougher fines need to be introduced for passengers trying to enter Australia with food items that put our biosecurity at risk.
The state's largest sheep and lamb processing cooperative,, WAMMCO, has plans to spend up to $80 million upgrading its plant and building mine-style accommodation to house as many as 200 workers.
The state's chief vet says she is not comfortable with the animal welfare outcome of a recent shipment of 1208 cattle from Darwin to Broome to be processed at the Kimberley Meat Company.
WA livestock agent Daniel Wood, who was charged with five counts of property/money laundering in a cattle theft investigation by WA Police, has had all charges against him dropped.
The consultation process, around the federal government's phase-out of the live sheep trade, is facing further criticism, with the commissioning of an economic and agronomic impact report due by the June 30, a report that would usually take up to a year to complete
Police minister Paul Papalia has announced a farm advisory board will be formed to consult on firearms laws.
Some members of the WA farming community are calling on the Premier and the agriculture minister to stop just saying they support the live sheep trade and actually start fighting to save the Industry.
An inquiry into workplace safety in Western Australia's agricultural sector has recommended establishing a levy on industry to allow WorkSafe to increase oversight and hire six new inspectors.
Pastoralists in Western Australia’s Pilbara region are picking up the pieces after Ex Tropical Cyclone Ilsa left a trail of ‘total destruction and devastation’ in its path.
If you've ever eaten cockles (pipis) you might have wondered who catches them. Today you'll find out. (But believe it or not these WA cockles are raked up)
There are only two main varieties of avocados sold in Australia. Why is one getting negative publicity on social media at the moment?
Western Australia's barley and wine producers hope relations between China and Australia keep improving so 'normal' trading can resume.
Australia has temporarily suspended it's World Trade Organisation dispute against China over tariffs placed on Australian barley.
A tropical cyclone and two cold fronts are forecast to bring lots of rain to Western Australia's north and south this week.
Western Australian lobster fishers say large cargo ships are regularly destroying thousands of dollars worth of fishing gear.
The first consignment of cattle shipped from Darwin to Broome has been unloaded for processing.
The Johns family runs Killara and Munarra Stations - about 50 kilometres north of Meekatharra. Liam Johns says it's been quite a few years since that country has seen this much rain.
There's a growing sense of frustration among the Esperance commercial fishing sector with the State Government pressing ahead with a new South Coast Marine Park, set to take effect early next year.
The sole export accredited abattoir in Western Australia's north has just been given the green light to bring cattle in via ship from the Kimberley and the NT.
Farmers and Indigenous rangers are a step closer to being paid to protect nature with the federal government introducing legislation to establish a biodiversity trading scheme.
Last night on ABC TV's 730 current affairs program, a report aired showing footage obtained by animal activist Chris Delforce, from the Farm Transparency Project. The footage shows pigs in Victorian abattoirs squealing loudly during a process called stunning.
Some WA wheatbelt farms experienced the wildest storms the owners have ever seen over the weekend. It's prompted some farmers to bring seeding plans forward.
The CBH Shareholders Association continues to pursue a rebate for growers from the CBH Group's record profit last financial year. If it can't secure that, it wants to prevent it happening in the future.
The degradation of Western Australia's rangelands is very often blamed on livestock but a group of pastoralists recently got together to learn how their cattle and sheep can actually be used to restore and revitalise the state's pastoral region.
A two week work stoppage, scheduled to start on Thursday, at the state's main grain port, is now on hold, following a meeting between the Maritime Union of Australia and the CBH Group.
One of the biggest players in the WA fertiliser market says it's keen to reflect any cost reductions in fertiliser prices to ensure farmers make good economic decisions and buy what they need for this year's season.
The Maritime Union of Australia is hopefully a seven day consecutive work stoppage at the Kwinana Grain Terminal, scheduled for next week, can be avoided, following a meeting held yesterday with the CBH Group.
Extensive road damage in the Kimberley has left WA's only major northern abattoir inaccessible.
Fruit and vegetable growers in Western Australia's north have seen their freight costs to the state's south double.
The Grains Industry Association of WA has released it's latest crop report, which predicts a record 26 million tonne crop.
The first live sheep export consignment for 2023 has departed Fremantle for the Middle East.
The National Farmers Federation is urging the Commonwealth to review right to repair laws that would give farmers more power to decide who fixes their machinery
Federal Agriculture and Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt outlines assistance available to pastoralists in the Kimberley.
Prime Minster Anthony Albanese arrives in the Kimberley to assess flood ravaged communities.
Temporary access will be given to class 3 vehicles to ensure delivery of essential goods to the North West and the Northern Territory via South Australia.
Western Australia's main grain handler, the CBH Group, expects to topple its receival record of 21.3 million tonnes on Thursday afternoon.
Record flooding in WA's Kimberley region results in stock losses and extensive infrastructure damage.
For many livestock producers across the state, the future of the live sheep trade is front of mind as the first shipment of 2023 prepares to set sail this month
The national potato chip supply is being affected by flooding in the east and unseasonal conditions in the west. Not good news for fish and chip shop owners.
Murdoch University Dr Graham Gardner says methane emissions from livestock are not as big a problem as carbon dioxide from fossil fuels.
WA's new Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis says she'll take a 'pragmatic' approach to addressing challenges and opportunities in farming.
Grain farmers aren't the only ones waiting on conditions to dry out so they can get a crop off. WA's cherry growers are still waiting for fruit to ripen.
Last night was particularly eventful for Bruce Rock farmer Leigh Strange who says lots of lightning started five fires...and then it hailed.
Gary Webster still runs his family cropping operation, more than three years after a horrific machinery accident.
In April this year the price of DAP ex Morocco was around $1800 a tonne and in October it had dropped to $1200 a tonne , still historically very high prices.
CBH CEO Ben Macnamara said the supply chain will benefit from the co-op's decision to buy more trains and wagons and in August, CBH started the process to buy three more train sets.
Biosecurity has been the top talking point at this year's Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association conference.
Today you'll find out why it's quite significant the Cattle Council of Australia is set to become Cattle Australia.
Farmers in the Esperance region are counting the cost of a significant hail storm that ripped through on September 19. They can now see how much damage it did to their canola.
A senior state government aquatic resources director says decreasing catches in WA's Shark Bay prawn fishery are 'very concerning'.
The outgoing president of the WAFarmers grains section says the state government is completely disconnected from the WA agricultural sector and it's time for it to extend an olive branch to get the relationship back on track. The High Court has rejected a bid by animal rights activists to challenge some laws in New South Wales that restrict secret filming of farming practices.
Greg Payne from Badja Station says the last few weeks have brought some lovely rain which will be awesome for their feed.ws and events from Western Australia and the nation.
Pastoralists in the Pilbara will now have access to new trials and research, to help build drought resilience into their business.
The state government says recent events like the flooding in South Australia which cut off major railway lines have highlighted the need for a more resilient supply chain.
Australia now has a new national biosecurity strategy to help tackle serious pests like varroa mite and diseases such as Foot and Mouth and Lumpy Skin.
It sounds like the wet markets of Indonesia are filling up with lots of cheap meat, because small landholders are rushing to sell stock before they potentially succumb to foot-and-mouth disease.
The latest wool and sheepmeat survey from Meat and Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation shows Australia's total breeding flock is 42.5 million head, an increase of 500, 000 ewes since last year.
Parents of Australia's boarding school children are keen to see changes made to the way serious contagious diseases are managed in the future. That's one of the loud messages coming out of this week's national Isolated Children's Parents' Association conference held in Perth.
Sandalwood producer, Santanol, has put a promising new project on hold after the recent detection of myrtle rust in the Kimberley.
The installation of WA's first giant battery is underway and is expected to be online by the end of the year.
A Western Australian cattle producer estimates demand for his wagyu beef has increased about 300 per cent in the last year.
Angus Gidley-Baird, a senior protein analyst with Rabobank, says since the start of the year cattle prices have been slowly slipping away from the record high levels and he expects it to settle at a more realistic position.
The journey to develop a Kununurra cotton gin has reached a milestone with the State Government announcing a new land lease for the infrastructure.
WA's grain lobby groups WAFarmers, the PGA and West Australian Grains Group has met with the state's main grain handler, the CBH Group, to urgently find new ways to move grain from up country receival sites to port and out to markets. The delays and bottlenecks in the grain supply chain are now costing growers between $50 and $100 per tonne and have been since about November last year.
Indonesian officials are hoping to bring foot-and-mouth disease under control by the end of the year, through the roll-out of vaccinations.
A very handy drop of rain overnight for farmers in the north eastern wheatbelt, who were looking for a drink after a very dry July. Darren Marquis is an agronomist based at Mukinbudin. He says despite the fact some farmers have held back on nitrogen, due to the high cost, the crops are looking pretty good and it's a great start to August.
Sam Guest farms at Salmon Gums. He says the 16 millimetres of rain he got in the last 24 hours is exactly what his cereal crop needed.
The first grain ship has left the Port of Odessa carrying 26, 000 tonnes of corn destined for Lebanon. The market is not convinced this shipment is the start of any significant grain flows from the region.
The state's largest sheep and lamb processing cooperative WAMMCO will return a record $8.4 million in pool bonuses to its producer members at the end of this month. The bonus is $6.4 million more than last year, and $4.1 million more than any other year in the co-op's history. WAMMCO's Group Chief Executive Coll MacRury says the record is due to better than budgeted revenues.
Australian experts are saying more testing and surveillance is needed to verify claims from Indonesia that foot-and-mouth disease is under control in four provinces, including Bali, where there are now no active cases.
The state agriculture minister Alannah MacTiernan says she's proud of her achievements in the portfolio, despite calls for her to quit after saying an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease would result in cheaper meat and milk prices. The minister says she's especially pleased with the money that's gone into research and development, the investment in biosecurity and in programs that support progressive farmers.
Derek Curwen farms at South Stirling, near WA's south coast, he says the minister hasn't adequately represented mainstream agriculture in WA.
One of the biggest players in WA's fruit and vegetable industry, the Galati Group, is looking at spending close to $1-million on a mechanical broccoli harvester, because there are no workers to do the job.
The National Farmers' Federation is confident the Australian Government is responding well to the increasing threat of foot and mouth disease.
Churchill Fellow Beth Green is heading overseas to research different livestock traceability systems.
One of the largest, if not the largest, vegetable producer in Western Australia says it's had to cut its plantings by 50 per cent this year, due to the eye-watering cost of inputs like fertiliser and the ongoing worker shortage.
Following floods and extreme weather in New South Wales and Queensland a couple of months ago, WA vegetable farmers are sending an unprecedented amount of winter vegetables to markets in the eastern states.
One line of fresh produce that is not in short supply and is relatively cheap, is avocado. A Rabobank report says Australian growers will this year produce 22 avocados per Australian; that's up 26 per cent on last year's figures.
Only hours after the deal was inked with Russia to allow grain exports to resume from Ukraine, Russia fired missiles at the Port of Odesa, Ukraine's largest seaport.
Australian researchers are optimistic they can develop a world-first pesticide that selectively kills the varroa mite pest, without harming honey bees.
When you find the best ram you've ever seen, you're obviously prepared to pay whatever it takes to get your hands on him, that was the case for Luke Ledwith from Kolindale Merino Stud at Dudinin, 270 kilometres south east of Perth.
A deal with Russia, to allow grain exports to resume from Ukraine, is expected to be confirmed later today. The deal will obviously relieve some of the global anxiety about a food crisis, but it will also put downward pressure on grain prices.
WA based multinational Perdaman has paused works on a multi-billion-dollar fertiliser plant in the Pilbara, following concerns about its potential impact on ancient rock art.
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies says businesses are struggling with a range of rising costs and delays through the supply chain, with the gold sector most under pressure.
A South American beef industry analyst says Australia needs to do whatever it takes to keep foot-and-mouth disease out of the country.
An animal health leader says the discovery of traces of Foot and Mouth Disease in imported meat products for sale in supermarkets is proof Australia's biosecurity system is working.
Margo Andrae, head of Australian Pork Limited is not happy a product, with traces of FMD, has found its way into Australia.
The South American red meat giant Minerva Foods has just opened its new meat processing facility at Shark Lake, a few kilometres north of the Esperance township. In 2021 Minerva purchased the Shark Lake plant and the Great Eastern abattoir near Tammin, about 180 kilometres east of Perth.
New figures for the month of June show live cattle exports out of Australia are the lowest they've been since the 2011 live export ban.
WA's cattle exporters are experiencing very difficult trading conditions as a key market like Indonesia backs away from buying a lot cattle while it's still trying to roll out FMD vaccines and get the appropriate protocols in place.
The Australian Meat Industry Council is today calling for some calmer heads in discussions surrounding foot and mouth disease.
Pieter Mostert has a dairy farm just north-west of Albany and has implemented as much biosecurity measures as possible to keep foot-and-mouth disease out of his property.
The Livestock and Rural Transport Association is calling for more truck washing facilities in Western Australia.
Former CBH director and Morawa grain grower Rod Madden is excited about the prospect of a new player entering the grain handling and export market here in Western Australia.
The demand for sheepmeat and lamb is continuing to grow in existing and emerging markets throughout Asia.
Dr Chris Parker is head of the National Animal Disease Taskforce with the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture says Australia could get hold of at least one million foot-and-mouth disease vaccines with a week.
A farmer in the state's South West says the threat of foot-and-mouth disease is really stressful and it's becoming very difficult to cope.
WA's Agriculture Minister says the State Government is working on strategies to manage an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, should the virus reach Australia. Amid calls for travel bans from Indonesia, Alannah MacTiernan says there are better ways to protect the nation's livestock.
Kimberley pastoralist David Stoate agrees with Alannah MacTiernan that a Bali travel ban may not be such a good idea.
An innovative grain handling and export company based in South Australia is investigating the possibility of setting up shop here in Western Australia, and is currently exploring several suitable sites along the WA coastline. T-Ports was established in 2018 and developed its own small port at Lucky Bay, on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. It's a shallow water port where grain is loaded onto a smaller feeder vessel and then taken out to an ocean-going vessel, waiting in deeper water. It's a process called transhipment.
Andrew Forrest's aquaculture company has plans for a major expansion of its Gascoyne oyster farm.
Tropical rock lobsters could soon be reared in some sort of land based aquaculture set-up.
Farmer protests in the Netherlands are a timely reminder for the Australian farm sector to keep talking about and documenting the work being done on farms here to manage the landscape, improving sustainability and biodiversity. That's the message from the CEO of the National Farmers Federation Tony Maher. He's just returned from a trip the Netherlands where thousands of farmers have been protesting against the Dutch government's plans to reduce total nitrogen emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.
Leader of the federal National Party says the government needs to do more to keep foot and mouth disease out of Australia.
Farmers could benefit in a number of ways from the development of Australia's first renewable diesel plant which looks like being developed in WA's Great Southern region. That's on the back of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between a number of organisations including WA-based company Carnarvon Energy and state owned Horizon Energy. Carnarvon Energy CEO Adrian Cook says they want to use farm waste to make diesel fuel.
The fungal disease, myrtle rust, has been detected in the East Kimberley and has the potential to wipe out entire plant species.
WA sheep producers say it's a real challenge to get livestock into a processing facility at the moment, with many getting a last minute call from the meat works to delay bookings.
Craig Heggaton is chair of WAMMCO and says the delays are due to the shortage of workers.
Murray Frangs is the general manager of RETWA, Rural Export and Trading WA, the country's biggest sheep exporter. He says the company plans to have a ship ready to set sail from Fremantle when the moratorium period comes to an end.
Western Australia's grain crop is on target for a 19.4 million tonne crop come harvest time later this year. The crops are generally looking very good, particularly in the southern regions, however, as you head north they could definitely do with a good drop of rain.
A farmer in the south west of the state says he's had first hand experience with foot-and-mouth disease and he's worried it's now so close to Australia's borders. He says after being up close to the disease, he knows the grief it can cause.
About 1.2 million native tree seedlings are being planted by hand on farmland about 200 kilometres north of Perth. It's part of Woodside's Native Reforestation project.
Travellers returning from Indonesia will be subject to tougher biosecurity measures from today to try to prevent a local outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
As an added precaution Western Australia's chief vet, Michelle Rodan, is asking farmers to consider isolating any farm workers, returning from holidays, from livestock for seven days.
The threat of a serious livestock disease like Foot and Mouth or Lumpy Skin Disease has highlighted the need for Australia to introduce an electronic ID system for sheep.
An expert panel has just revised the likelihood of foot and mouth disease getting into Australia. It's gone from a nine per cent chance to an 11.6 per cent chance in the next five years. This follows the recent detection of the disease on the holiday hotspot Bali.
Australia's chief veterinary officer, Mark Schipp, has confirmed there will be compensation available to Australian farmers if there's a local outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
Ag consultant Wayne Pluske says it is worth doing the sums on the financial returns from applying nitrogen.
Alarm bells are sounding for WA piggery operators after reports of foot and mouth disease in cattle in the holiday hotspot of Bali.
The WA Local Government Association believes every council should have the right to determine if they remain responsible for the volunteer bushfire brigades in their shire.
Increased flexibility is on the cards for leaseholders in the north of WA, thanks to a new 'diversification lease' proposed by the state government.
The highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease has now spread to Bali in Indonesia, with at least sixty cows testing positive.
Someone who knows first-hand what impact foot and mouth can have on livestock and farming communities is Vic Dawes, the boning room production manager at the Kimberley Meat Company abattoir, about a hundred kilometres east of Broome. He was raised in England and was there in 2001 when an FMD outbreak resulted in the slaughter of more than six point five million animals through-out the United Kingdom.
DPIRD is increasing its bee surveillance, in response to the detection of the deadly varroa mite in New South Wales.
Today we're celebrating the ABC's 90th birthday. The Country Hour has been around for 77 of those 90 years - and ABC Rural is still going strong.
A fire at a major wool processing plant in China, is not to blame for the big fall in prices at this week's wool sales.
The cattle industry's benchmark Eastern Young Cattle Indicator was in the headlines a lot last year as it broke records almost on a weekly basis, but the shine is coming off.
WA's emergency services minister says local government will continue to manage local volunteer bush fire brigades. Stephen Dawson says the only exception to the rule would be if both the local government and the local volunteers collectively agree to handball responsibilities over to the state, under the management of DFES, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
Renewables and clean energy have been a hot topic at the annual Pilbara summit on in Karratha this week.
WA's only local chip manufacturer has warned it will be forced to increase prices following a gas price increase of almost half a million dollars.
The Bushfire Volunteers of WA say there is nothing wrong with the current management structure and believe any move to centralise the system will see more volunteer firefighters quit the job. The volunteers want to maintain the status quo, but insist local governments need access to a greater share of the ESL, the Emergency Services Levy.
Plant breeders at Perth's Kings Park have bred some new varieties of waxflower for the global cut flower and potted plant markets.
WA's only commercial cheese manufacturer, Brownes Dairy, is set to resume exports to Singapore.
Former Aboriginal station workers, affected by an old state wages policy, are testifying at stolen wages hearings, being held in the Kimberley this week.
Crypto-currencies are made using hundreds of computers to solve equations and make algorithms and those computers need a lot of energy. Black Mountain Energy believes it can provide some of that energy with the gas generated from its exploration site in the Kimberley's Canning Basin.
Two of Western Australia's big animal protein agribusinesses have joined forces, with the Craig Mostyn Group and V&V Walsh announcing a full merger.
One of the Kimberley's big cattle station managers says the cattle trade to Indonesia is practically closed, as customers remain nervous about importing any more cattle without access to a vaccine against Foot and Mouth Disease.
The Kimberley Meat Company abattoir, is about 100 kilometres east of Broome and is now processing 200 head of cattle a day.
Thomas Elder Markets says live cattle exports to Indonesia lifted during May, but definitely appear much more subdued for the month of June.
Murray Watt is on his first trip to Western Australia since taking on the job as Australia's federal agriculture minister. He visited a wheat and wool farm at Brookton, 130 kilometres south-east of Perth and held a series of roundtable meetings with WAFarmers, the Pastoralists and Graziers Association, relevant state ministers and sheep exporters. He says the two biggest issues for agriculture that he's working on are biosecurity and the worker shortage.
Mark Harvey-Sutton from ALEC says the federal agriculture minister assured the live sheet industry he will listen and make every effort to understand how the trade works. He also reiterated the trade won't be closed during this term of government.
Serious questions are being asked about the culture in Western Australia's agricultural industry after another farm death. The latest was on Tuesday. A 24-year-old man, killed while attempting to move a bogged vehicle on a farm near Lake King in WA's Great Southern region. Worksafe commissioner Darren Kavanagh has launched an inquiry with some harsh words to those involved in agriculture.
Wind turbines are often seen as part of the green-solution to the world's reliance on fossil fuels, but experts warn they could actually become their own environmental issue.