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The decline is primarily due to poor rain in regions usually responsible for the bulk of the wheat harvest.

AgriculturePremiumWA set for smaller wheat crop after poor rainfall

Western Australia’s wheat production is expected to decline this season following poor rainfall across some regions, according to an industry group, which issued its first estimates for the year.

Ben Westcott

Peter Bird, Dr Hammad Khan, Jackie Jarvis MLC, Dr Nic Taylor, Dr Parwinder Kaur, and Richard Dickmann.

Crop ResearchWA joins nation-wide plant phenotyping project

WA crop production and grains research is set to be boosted thanks to a $5 million State Government investment into a nation-wide plant phenotyping project.

Georgia Campion

WeedSmart Week will be held in Geraldton this year. Inset: Peter Newman

WEEDSMART WEEKPremiumWeedSmart Week: Geraldton set to host annual soiree

Farmers taking part in the field tours will travel to Yuna to visit Simon Smart’s farm and meet with farm manager Austin Raynor, before travelling next door to meet farmers Erin and Brady Green.

Cally Dupe

A nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur blend.

FUTURE DIRECTIONPremiumGRDC puts up $600,000 to review soils, fertiliser research

Australia’s biggest grains research corporation has put a potential $600,000 on the table to help determine the direction of its future soils and fertiliser investment.

Cally Dupe

Plum Grove founders Andrew Young and Tony Smith in 2012.

GRAIN COMPETITIONPremiumHistoric wheat shipment sets sail from Geraldton

A subsidiary of well-known grain trading business Plum Grove has made history after becoming the first company to ship wheat from the Geraldton Port, other than the State’s main grain exporter CBH Group. 

Cally Dupe

Farmers Across Borders' first hay run to South Australia will set off in late July, it's biggest convoy to date.

Convoy of CompassionCommentsPremiumFarmers Across Borders drives solidarity with first hay run

WA’s first hay run to South Australia will set off in late July, as farmers lend a helping hand to their drought-affected neighbours. 

Melissa Pedelty

Kapari Angus stud co-principals Tony and Liz Sudlow at their Northampton farm.

RAIN RESULTSPremiumMid West farmers celebrate as ‘game changing’ rains continue

Mid West farmers are celebrating after “game changing” rains continue to fall, putting their worries at ease after a bone-dry start to the year.

Cally Dupe and Bob Garnant

The Grains Research and Development Corporation has acknowledged it is in a strong financial position.

Fund disputePremiumGRDC claps back at claims it has $1b ‘sitting in reserves’

The Grains Research and Development Corporation has clapped back at reports it has $1 billion sitting idle in Federal Treasury.

Cally Dupe

Gary and Narelle McGill with signs supporting Israel they affixed to the front gates of their Calingiri farm in the wheatbelt.

WA NewsPremium‘Never in a million years’: rise of anti-Semitism in regions

The scourge of anti-Semitism has spread as far as the remote corners of WA’s wheatbelt, with signs erected by a farmer in support of Israel defaced with obscenities and then stolen

Bethany Hiatt

Centre for Crop and Food Innovation director Dr Rajeev Varshney and GRDC senior manager for oilseeds and pulses Dr Francis Ogbonnaya.

ChickpeasChickpea pan-genome modified to improve yield and resilience

A pan-genome has been specifically tailored for Australia chickpea varieties to improve desirable agronomic traits including yield, flowering time, acid soil tolerance, and drought tolerance.

Georgia Campion

All Australian growers pay levies to GRDC of 0.9 per cent of the farm gate value of grain sold.

CASHED UPPremiumCalls for cashed-up GRDC to allocate money to biosecurity

Members of Australia’s grains industry are calling for the cashed-up Grains Research Development Corporation to dedicate a portion of its funds to biosecurity purposes.

Cally Dupe

Ben Creek at Boyup Brook breathed a sigh of relief at rains earlier this month.

Spirits soarPremiumSpirits soar but farmers ‘realistic’ anything could happen

Rainfall totals are soaring and so are farmers’ hopes of a better year than originally expected. 

Cally Dupe

Michelle Walton-Hassell and John Hassell with grandchildren Kyle and Austin Stevens on their East Pingelly farm.

Farm lifeJohn Hassell: Life after WAFarmers

East Pingelly farmer John Hassell continues to advocate for the Australian farming community despite stepping down as president of WAFarmers earlier this year.

Georgia Campion

WA grain farmers have defied predicted odds of a falling winter crop production.

Crop reportWA defies planting area forecasts with canola and barley

WA grain farmers have defied predicted odds of a falling winter crop production as canola and barley planting levels soar thanks to recent rainfall events.

Georgia Campion

An aerial view of OATSPO 2024, in Highbury near Narrogin.

Oat ExpoOATSPO 2024 oat trial results released by GIWA

The final field trial findings of OATSPO 2024, developed at a trial site near Narrogin, have been released by the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia.

Georgia Campion

Darrell Turner and Suzanne Turner with dogs Charlie and Ruby. The Turners have cropped at their Aldersyde home for three generations since 1903.

Family FarmOn farm with Aldersyde’s cropping family, the Turners

Aldersyde crop farmers Darrell and Suzanne Turner are celebrating 100 years of farming at Millbrook Farm which has been handed down over three generations. 

Georgia Campion

A paddock being overtaken by Gazania in Loxton, South Australia.

Pesky FlowerIntroduced flower threatens grain production with resiliency

Invasive African flower Gazania is more resilient than previously thought and is now considered one of Australia’s biggest weed threats to grain production and the native environment.

Georgia Campion

Farmers Across Borders' will make their first convoy into SA in the coming weeks.

helping hayHay from the west sent to farmers in drought

WA farmers now have the ability to lend a helping hand to replenish South Australia’s hay stocks as the state continues to grapple with some of the driest conditions in decades.

Melissa Pedelty

Canola crops near York.

CANOLA PLANTINGS PremiumWA grain farmers pull back GM canola plantings

WA grain farmers are slowing down their plantings of genetically modified canola for the first time, enticed by a price premium of up to $100 per tonne for non-GM canola. 

Cally Dupe

GRDC and partners will tackle mouse impact on crops in a $11 million joint investment, with research to be led by CSIRO.

Managing MiceMouse management in crops gets $11m in funding

Mouse activity, and threat it presents to Australian grain growers, will be tackled by CSIRO with an $11 million joint investment from the Grains Research & Development Corporation and partners.

Georgia Campion

Australia’s agricultural production value is forecasted to fall by $2.6 billion in 2025-2026.

Agricultural ProductionAg production value predicted to fall by 2.8 per cent

Low crop and livestock production volume is expected to cut Australia’s agricultural production value by $2.6 billion in 2025-2026.

Georgia Campion

Demand for hay of any quality has skyrocketed across all livestock sectors.

Hay ReportDemand for hay jumps as lambing and calving approaches

Demand for hay of any quality is high across all livestock sectors as farmers prepare for lambing and calving, according to the Australian Fodder Industry Association May 30 Hay report.

Georgia Campion

BCI Minerals CEO David Boshoff at a WA Mining Club Lunch. Riley Churchman

AgriculturePremiumBCI Minerals goes long on potash

Salt developer BCI Minerals is playing the long-game in its bid to crack Australia’s potash problem while making the most of the Pilbara’s insatiable need for more port capacity. 

Simone Grogan

A Rabobank report has predicted changes to Australia's pulse exports as a result of changes in global supply and demand.

Pulse ExportsAustralian pulse export impact predicted in Rabobank report

Changes in global supply and demand may impact Australia’s pulse exports, causing minor global headwinds according to Rabobank’s Australian pulses exports and tariffs report.

Georgia Campion