Grain growers deliberating over whether or not to top up their crops with nitrogen fertiliser have been urged to use a range of tools to make the difficult decision. While many growers experiencing a favourable season have already topped up with nitrogen, some growers, particularly in the southern agricultural region, are considering an additional application to maintain yield potential. Department of Agriculture and Food senior development officer Jeremy Lemon said it would be wise for

Sheepmeat and wool producers are being encouraged to set up on-farm genetic benchmarking trials to improve the productivity and profitability of their flock. The Department of Agriculture and Food has appointed development officer Meghan Cornelius to assist individuals or groups to establish the trials and provide ongoing advice. Ms Cornelius said ram comparison and ewe productivity trials were a useful tool for growers to pursue their flock’s breeding objectives. “My role is to assist producers

WAFarmers has received the following information from the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council: “The ballot for the levy reform process has been finalised. The final vote was 86% in favour of the levy increases and 92% in favour of lifting the threshold. The process now moves on to the next phase where the Business Case is being finalised before submitting to the Department of Agriculture. After processing within the Department it moves on to other

Advice has been received from the Department of Agriculture that the queen bee levy will be set at zero from August 1, 2104. Those queen bee breeders who are currently paying the levy will be advised by the levies collection unit about the process for finalising the returns currently outstanding. This means there will now be more money available for research by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation because the queen bee levy was

Plant Health Australia has developed a website, BeeAware, protect honey bees through promoting the increased yield honey bee pollination provides crops. From the media statement: Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, welcomed the development of a new website designed to help crop producers get the full benefit from honey bee pollination.     The BeeAware site is one of the tools Plant Health Australia has developed to protect honey bees through promoting the increased yield honey

The importance of livestock biosecurity is being highlighted by the Department of Agriculture and Food at this year’s Dowerin Machinery Field Days. The department will have an on-farm food safety trail to remind livestock producers about potential on-farm risks so they can safeguard animals from harmful residues. Department veterinary officer Skye Badger said keeping livestock free of harmful residues was critical to maintaining WA’s access to domestic and international markets. “Active membership of Australia’s on-farm

If your employees have ‘choice of fund’ you are probably paying super into multiple different super funds. This can be a complex and time consuming process, requiring you to contact and pay each fund separately.  A clearing house allows employers to pay all their super contributions in a single online payment. The clearing house then distributes employee super payment to all the funds on your behalf. Basically, you can spend less time administering super and

AgConnectWA, WAFarmers’ group for young people with an interest in agriculture, elected a new President and Vice President at its annual conference, #GenerationforChange, on the weekend. Kallum Blake of Katanning was elected to the position of President, with Katie Pole, from Larrawa Station near Fitzroy Crossing, elected as Vice President. Mr Blake thanked the outgoing President, Andrew Whitelaw, for his dedication to connecting young people in the industry and said he was eager to continue

Dairy farmers at yesterday’s WAFarmers Annual Dairy Conference united to call for more equitable and sustainable farm gate milk prices. Delegates unanimously determined to call on processors to raise the price paid per litre to farmers as demand outstripped supply.                                    “At the conference, we were presented with evidence* showing the demand for drinking milk had outstripped production for the first time earlier this year,” WAFarmers Dairy Council President Phil Depiazzi said. “Additionally, the farm gate

WAFarmers’ Grains section made a submission on the “Review of Structural Governance Options for the GRDC” to Marsden Jacobs Associates on July 21. WAFarmers supports the transitioning of GRDC into an industry-owned corporation (IOC; limited by guarantee model), provided that the new structure is sound and robust, and maintains a clear vision which continues to promote a profitable and sustainable grains industry into the future. The drawbacks of the current system are: The uncertainty associated