March 2017

WAFarmers Members and members of the general public are advised of the following discussions and developments during the most recent Grains Section Meeting, on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 March 2017. President and meeting Chair | Duncan YoungSenior Vice President | Michael FelsVice President | Mark Fowler (elected during the meeting) Executive members:Duncan YoungMichael FelsMark FowlerMark AdamsKallum BlakeKim Simpson Presentation | GRDC Western Panel Deputy Chair – Mike Ewing Presentation and discussions on changes within

Congratulations to Guy Coleman (Mosman Park), Jessica Andony (Harvey), Katrina Sasse (Canna) and Nick Hardie (Boddington) who have been selected as the finalists for the WAFarmers and Rural Bank Agriculture Award at the upcoming 2017 WA Young Achiever Awards! The achievements of these four individuals will be acknowledged at the presentation dinner on Friday 12 May, with the category winner to be announced that night. One of the eight category winners will then be selected

WAFarmers has recently welcomed Shannen Barrett to the team as the organisation’s full time Junior Policy Officer. Working under the guidance of the existing policy staff, Shannen will play a vital role in the development and maintenance of the WAFarmers Policy document, and will gain experience in advocacy and policy within a member-based agricultural organisation. Born and raised in Geraldton, Shannen moved to Perth after completing high school, choosing to study for a Bachelor of

Australia has acquired a sound reputation for its biosecurity management and enforcement systems, with the initial Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity supported as an important step towards formalising cooperation between all entities. That said, it has been acknowledged that there are still some issues to be resolved in terms of developing open communication channels between all entities involved in the management of biosecurity programs. The Commonwealth and all State and Territory Governments are currently undertaking an

WAFarmers congratulates WA Labor, which convincingly won in the 2017 State Election. WAFarmers President Tony York said WA Labor had performed reasonably well against the WAFarmers State Election Policy Platform which was demonstrated in the WAFarmers scorecard, released last week. “We congratulate Mark McGowan and his team at WA Labor on being elected to government,” he said. “With their election, it is expected the party will capitalise on the existing recognition of WA agriculture as

Ahead of the State Election on Saturday, WAFarmers has released their much-anticipated scorecard which outlines the major parties’ acknowledgements of agricultural issues and how they intend to address them. The scorecard, which addresses the agricultural policies of Labor, Liberals, The Greens, Nationals, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, rates the parties on whether they had acknowledged the issues outlines in the WAFarmers Policy Platform, regardless of whether the party’s views echoed WAFarmers’

Red tape, the definition of family, and existing taxes and duties are amongst the most prohibitive processes when it comes to succession planning according to WAFarmers. Speaking on the last of the six WAFarmers Policy Priorities for the State Election, WAFarmers President Tony York said succession planning was a real issue for all farming, and that current processes could be seen as a disincentive. “In Western Australia, taxes and duties incurred when farmland transfers from

The need for reliable telecommunications in a state as vast as Western Australia cannot be overstated, and WAFarmers said State Government commitment was needed to safeguard these services. Speaking on the last of the Wish List items for the WAFarmers State Election Policy Platform, WAFarmers President Tony York said there was no reason why people living in rural and regional areas should still be struggling to connect to mobile and internet services, given the rate

Consumers are able to support Western Australian farmers more easily than ever before, with WAFarmers having officially launched a new eggs product under the WAFarmersFirst brand at the 2017 WAFarmers Annual Conference: GROW2017 Gala Dinner and Awards last night. In conjunction with the Commercial Egg Producers Association of Western Australia (CEPA), cartons of free range eggs are now available in some country IGA stores. WAFarmers President Tony York said the time was right to expand

Seven individuals were recognised at tonight’s WAFarmers Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony for their dedication and service towards the organisation and the state’s agricultural sector. WAFarmers President Tony York said the recipients had demonstrated outstanding commitment towards WAFarmers and towards the development of the state’s agricultural industries. “The seven individuals acknowledged tonight have continually worked hard to advance Western Australian agriculture and to act on behalf of WAFarmers Members on all matters of interest,” he