October 2013

WAFarmers extends congratulations to member Blythe Calnan, who was last night named the NAB Agribusiness Rising Beef Champion. Blythe said she was “absolutely thrilled” to be named the winner of the award at last night’s gala dinner, which capped off a three-day stint in Canberra filled with workshops, meetings and a chance to speak with Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce. Blythe grew up in the East Pilbara, where she is now based, and has spent

WAFarmers welcomes news a South West farmer was found not guilty of illegally clearing his land under illogical State environmental laws. Earlier this week, Lake Muir farmer Peter Swift was cleared of any wrongdoing in a Bunbury court. He had been charged with illegally clearing an Environmentally-Sensitive Area under the Environmental Protection Act. WAFarmers has been campaigning for changes to the land clearing laws and the removal of criminal penalties for a number of years,

WAFarmers has called on national R&D and marketing body Australian Wool Innovation to join with industry and unite against the devastating impact of wild dogs. Today, WAFarmers is making a submission signalling support for the National Wild Dog Action Plan (NWDAP), produced by industry stakeholders led by peak wool body WoolProducers Australia. WAFarmers Wool Section President Ed Rogister said it was essential for AWI, as one of the industry’s major research and development bodies, to

WAFarmers welcomes today’s news that the Barnett government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese sister province Zhejiang, opening the door for potential live cattle exports to the region. WAFarmers Meat Council President Jeff Murray said the agreement was a promising sign for the live cattle industry, which has faced significant challenges in the past two years. “The live export market has fallen behind the processed and domestic markets recently, resulting in an oversupply

WAFarmers President Dale Park will today travel to Indonesia as part of a Global Foundation delegation of agricultural industry representatives. The two-day trip will see a group of ten Australian delegates attend high level meetings with representatives of Indonesian government and industry in the inaugural 10 + 10 working meeting. Mr Park said the meeting was part of a larger plan to build a comprehensive partnership between Australia and Indonesia which would guarantee regional food