WAFarmers president Dale Park said today’s State Budget has seen the government provide little commitment to the future of agriculture in Western Australia. Western Australians will pay up to $99 extra on their vehicle registrations, as of July 1 2016, to fund the introduction of a no-fault insurance scheme. The scheme was announced earlier this week and it could increase farmers’ operational costs by thousands. “While there are some concessions, the scheme is going to

WAFarmers President Dale Park said the recently announced Federal Budget serves as a stepping stone to the eagerly awaited release of the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper.  The Federal Budget delivers modest gains for the agricultural sector through initiative that will assist cash flow on farm; lower business taxes and boost outcomes from the bilateral trade agreements. “We’re relieved the Budget contained no big surprises for agriculture and we are looking forward to the release of

The final draft of the Code of Practice and National Bee Biosecurity Program has been prepared and is available from the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council website. Click here to visit the website. The Code is available to view online and there is also a document with track changes included so amendments are clear.  If you have any questions, please direct them to the WAFarmers Bees Executive Officer Maddison McNeil at [email protected] or call (08)

The appropriate amendment regulations to implement the honey levy reforms had been made at the Federal Executive Council meeting held on 30 April, 2015.  The amendments have now been registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments and will all commence, as AHBIC’s submission requested, on 1 July, 2015. The instruments can be viewed on the ComLaw site at the links below. Their ComLaw ID numbers are also provided. Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Amendment

Cattle producers are needed to support the National Arbovirus Monitoring Program (NAMP) which is a program that monitors the distribution insect-borne viruses of ruminant livestock, and their insect vectors, in Australia. The program requires a small amount of time each year and allowances are provided to contribute toward the cost of mustering cattle and handling insect traps. NAMP gathers information at monitoring sites across Australia by testing of blood samples from cattle herds and insect

Western Australian primary producers will be better equipped to fight against pest animals through an innovative new program supported by Western Australia’s largest and most influential advocacy group, WAFarmers. The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia’s Farmer Assist program will provide landholders and managers access to a database of qualified members with program-accredited shooting skills to assist with on-property pest animal control. SSAA National Farmer Assist Coordinator Matt Godson said the online resource was developed to

Rural roads in Western Australia will see none of the $499 million dollars in additional funding, announced today by the Federal Government, in recognition of WA’s future GST revenue shortfall.                                                                                                                                     According to an article in The West Australian newspaper, the $499 million will be spent on a Mitchell Freeway extension, a Tonkin Highway link, a Swan Valley bypass and an upgrade of Reid Highway at Malaga Drive. The emphasis on metropolitan road projects ignores the fact

WAFarmers members have today appointed a new commodity President and Executive Members at the WAFarmers Annual Beekeepers Conference. During the event, held in Baskerville, Vice President Leilani Leyland was elected to the position of President, replacing Stephen Fewster. Stephen Fewster remains on the Executive as immediate past President. David Leyland was appointed Senior Vice President, replacing Kim Philips, while Rod Pavy was elected as the new Vice President of the beekeeping commodity.  Kim Fewster, Stephen