WA grain king John Nicoletti went on a $30 million farm buying spree in 2019, despite making plans the prior year to retire from farming.
Jenne Brammer
Two prominent West Australian farmers will make up Grains Australia’s new five-strong board.
Germany’s HELM has signed a binding take-or-pay offtake deal for sulphate of potash to distribute across several European jurisdictions.
Stuart McKinnon
WA’s biggest pork producer posted a $8.3 million profit after recovery in pork prices and an key acquisition.
In the wake of last week’s deadly blast in Beirut there is a focus on ammonium nitrate, with local detonation modelling identifying potential effects on hospitals, airports, schools and the CBD.
Peter Law
Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan says farm industries could do more to attract local workers, as seasonal workers dry up amid COVID travel restrictions.
The live export industry is helping the regulator with an investigation into allegations Australian cattle are being brutally slaughtered in Indonesia.
They say money does not fall from the sky, but for some farmers rain that fell during the past two days is the closest thing to it.
Cally Dupe
The new Grains Australia board should be announced this week, and there will be a big push to get the new organisation to base its headquarters in WA, the biggest grain-producing State.
Bushfire-ravaged vines in the Adelaide Hills are being analysed and new methods are being used to restore the living back to health, in a project bringing growers and researchers together.
Clare Peddie
Perth’s strawberry growers are calling on families to come and pick their own fruit earlier this year, to put a dent in thousands of tonnes set to rot because there isn’t the manpower for harvest.
Farming industries are lobbying WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan to urgently broker a deal to allow international workers into the State.
The tough decision to close the fishery several years ago to let depleted stocks recover is paying dividends for local fishers, who are predicting the best year in 15 seasons.
The rain which fell in the State’s Wheatbelt and south coast this week was a timely reminder to consider the contribution made by the agricultural sector— and the farmers it was ‘good for’ .
The pioneering Margaret River winery is up for sale after chief winemaker and part-owner Michael Kerrigan decided to pursue other interests in the industry after 15 years at the helm.
Ray Jordan
The massive cash injection and proposed construction timeline would make Salt Lake the first commercial producer of sulphate of potash in Australia.
This week’s heavy rains have potentially poured tens of millions of dollars into the value of WA’s annual grain haul, after breaking a multi-year dry spell in parts of WA’s south coast and Wheatbelt.
Six years after entering the WA market to break CBH’s stranglehold on grain receivals, Bunge has racked up local losses of more than $35 million.
Pilbara pastoralist, miner and chopper pilot Brent Smoothy is selling the sublease and cattle on Sylvania Station near Newman to concentrate on his multiple other businesses.
Australian agriculture is at further risk from souring diplomatic tensions with China, former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer has warned.
It may be hot, dusty and remote, but the grain handler is offering good wages as part of its annual recruitment drive for workers to help get WA’s $5 billion harvest in the bins.
Brownes is hoping to make a dent in the 50,000 tonnes of cheese imported into WA each year with the launch of the first cheddar made from local milk since 2006.
WA Premier Mark McGowan says he fears rising tensions with China will see the Asian superpower impose further trade sanctions against more local industries.
The fall armyworm has been trapped at Geraldton, prompting calls for farmers in the area to be on the lookout for larvae or unusual crop damage.
© West Australian Newspapers Limited 2020
