October 2014

South-West farmers are encouraged to register their interest in farm planning workshops which focus on succession planning and marketing. Department of Agriculture and Food project manager Jason Moynihan said the free, one-day workshops were part of the successful Farm Planning Workshop series. “The new workshops have been designed to deliver a half-day Refresher workshop, for those who have previously completed the Plan, Prepare Prosper workshop, with succession planning or marketing the other key focus of

WAFarmers welcomes the tabling in Parliament today of the Economics and Industry Standing Committee’s report on the Management of Western Australia’s Freight Rail Network. The report supports the position which WAFarmers has long advocated – that there was no need for Tier 3 lines to be closed and all efforts should be made to reopen them, according to WAFarmers President Dale Park. “WAFarmers agrees wholeheartedly with the recommendation of the Committee that the government should

Grain growers have been urged to keep watch in wheat and barley crops for the soil-borne disease, fusarium crown rot, after an increase in detections this year – particularly in the eastern wheatbelt. The Department of Agriculture and Food has received reports from around Merredin of fusarium crown rot affecting between 30 to 50 per cent of wheat paddocks. The reports are consistent with a constant demand on the Department of Agriculture and Food’s diagnostic

Global Foundation, in partnership with WAFarmers, will convene a citizens-led Food Summit in Perth on Wednesday 19 November, involving senior stakeholders from across the food system in Australia and from the region, including Indonesia and China. For more information, click here.

In July, the WAFarmers Grains Section made a submission to support NuFarm’s application regarding the “Proposed variation to registration of Pintobi Attack™ Herbicide with IQ inside™ containing the approved active constituent glyphosate,” which has recently been approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). Click here to see the media release. The WAFarmers Grains Section supported the new use pattern of glyphosate in current farming systems and an increase in application rates for

AWI recently helped 48 groups across Australia to conduct on ground activities to kill wild dogs by releasing cash payments from a project commonly referred to as the ‘Kill More Dogs’ initiative. The AWI Board has endorsed a second round of funding for dog control activities. AWI is renaming the funding project to ‘Community Wild Dog Control Initiative’ to highlight the large co-funding that occurred. Applications are open to new groups as well as those

Last week on October 2, the Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) and the Department of Agriculture and Food hosted a consultative workshop as part of a series of regional supply chain workshops aimed at developing the next Meat Industry Strategic Plan (MISP). Processors, producers, live exporters and government representatives attended the workshop to provide input into the future of the red meat and livestock industry and problems affecting specific regions across the country. The workshops

Growers in the Kojonup area have the opportunity to be updated on the latest grains research and development work at a Department of Agriculture and Food field day later this month. Organised by Southern DIRT, the field day is being held on 17 October on Ben Webb’s property at Qualeup, from 8.30am to 12noon. Department grains research officer Raj Malik said department and CSIRO staff would provide updates on six trials. “Growers will have the