ON WAFarmers

Do any of the following issues affect you? If so, WAFarmers Grains President Mark Fowler and his fellow advocates in WA and nationally have had a busy year on your behalf:- Paraquat is still in play.- The mouse bait that actually works got a permit. - Fertiliser companies were pushed to honour contracts worth an estimated $50 to $70 million. - Family trusts kept their primary-production carve-out. - Now restricting phosphine is on the table, with a proposed limit the trade says it can't even measure. - The diesel excise rebate is under fresh political pressure. - A flash-point change tied to renewable diesel would make almost every on-farm tank non-compliant. - The GRDC levy needs sorting out, with about $800 million sitting in reserve.That is the year Mark Fowler walks through from their farm at Williams. He is in his fifth year as president of the WAFarmers Grains Council. Mic Fels, who held the job before him, recorded this on a crutching day in July '26 (before the latest Senate inquiry into Paraquat was announced), with 190 mm in the gauge and the crops still short of rain.Mark runs about 8,000 hectares of crop across 140 kilometres, hay, canola and barley, and he is still the person who ends up in the truck when harvest is short a driver. The conversation moves from how their system works for them into why Grain Producers Australia exists, who pays for it, and what happens if the one third of growers who fund advocacy stop. He is plain on the free-rider problem. The wins are real. The losses you never hear about are the point.If your business uses paraquat, phosphine, diesel or a family trust, this is the work you don't have to do when advocates are doing it for you. Join WAFarmers. Then send this to a grower who is not a member yet.Chapters:0:00 — Fifth year as grains president, and why the farm still comes first2:00 — 190 mm, a hard finish, and a hay system that does not need wheat10:00 — Paraquat is not gone, and who actually paid for the science23:00 — Four results this year, then phosphine and diesel storage40:00 — Ten percent of growers, forty percent of the crop, and the GRDC reserve49:0 — What the sub pays for, and how important it is to keep supporting the workers keeping farming going behind the scenes.Produced for and on behalf of WAFarmers by Mic Fels (2026 Vice President).🌾 BECOME A WAFARMERS MEMBER:Join the voice of Western Australian agriculture and access exclusive representation, advocacy, and member benefits.👉 https://members.wafarmers.org.au/auth/register💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION:How are you affected by this long list of political challenges to your business? Let us know in the comments below, and in our socials @WAFarmers !👍 Don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the Notification Bell so you never miss an episode of ON WAFarmers.

When it comes to immigration policies impacting Australia's productive sector, the stakes couldn't be higher. With the Coalition’s soon to be released full immigration policy open on his desk., Senator Jonathon Duniam, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, reveals the urgent challenges posed by the recent freeze on the 417 Working Holiday Maker ("backpacker") visa program, and what needs to be done to fix it.As harvest fast approaches, farmers across the nation are left wondering: will the government act swiftly enough to process pending applications and secure the workforce they desperately need? Labor is playing the numbers with NOM. One Nation says "just say no". Listen to this fulsome discussion with Senator Duniam, for early insights into where the Coalition immigration settings might land.Sen Duniam wants the automatic processing of $840 applications flicked back on, while the UK stream can stay tighter because those numbers went to the cities, not the paddock.Also in this episode: - is NOM is the wrong metric for backpackers who live in farm quarters?- Labor’s second and third year ballots - will the fee come back if you are not drawn?- future support for a dedicated broadacre visa.- dealing with the productivity versus politics challenge.- and why he once threatened to cross the floor on the backpacker tax.Chapters:00:06 — A Labor family, a Liberal senator, and a note in a box02:18 — They turned the tap off. Harvest is three weeks away06:05 — Cities want fewer people. The regions want skilled workers13:10 — Cut numbers without cutting productivity19:26 — Is NOM the wrong number?25:50 — A broadacre visa, then life after CanberraJoin us ON WAFarmers as we explore these pressing issues that affect not just the farming sector, but the entire Australian economy.Produced for and on behalf of WAFarmers by Mic Fels (2026 Vice President).🌾 BECOME A WAFARMERS MEMBER:Join the voice of Western Australian agriculture and access exclusive representation, advocacy, and member benefits.👉 https://members.wafarmers.org.au/auth/register💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION:How are you affected by the current migration problem? Let us know in the comments below, and inour socials @WAFarmers !👍 Don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the Notification Bell so you never miss an episode of ON WAFarmers.

Filmed at the beautiful Esperance foreshore with a wheat ship loading in the background, Mic chats with Australia's favourite ag bromance - aka AgWatchers (Andrew Whitelaw and Matt Dalgleish) - for an entertaining, no-nonsense look at Australian and global ag markets. From grain marketing strategies and livestock trends to navigating input costs with current global disruption, this episode is a great mix of their unmistakeable wry humour and gripping insights into ag markets.Find out if Matt and Andrew finally answered the big question: why hasn't haggis taken off in Australia, but Crocs did?------Produced for and on behalf of WAFarmers by Mic Fels (2026 Vice President).🌾 BECOME A WAFARMERS MEMBER:Join the voice of Western Australian agriculture and access exclusive representation, advocacy, and member benefits.👉 https://members.wafarmers.org.au/auth/register💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION:What’s your take on current grain and livestock market movements? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and follow our socials @WAFarmers !👍 Like, Subscribe, and hit the Notification Bell so you never miss an episode of ON WAFarmers.

From a freezing Hyden sunrise with the birds coming alive in the background, Hugo and Marianne Bombara join WAFarmers VP Mic Fels to talk Moroccan ambassadors and live-export futures, starting out farming on $1,200-an-acre Boyup Brook blue gum country, science-backed silent sheep yards, AI that codes your Xero bills, and why advocacy stands or falls on communication and trust. Hugo talks about how a live-sheep delegation to drought-hit Morocco turned into a diplomatic relationship with the Moroccan ambassador… and now phosphate supply conversations. His vision of how live export might still have a lean, on-farm-quarantine future, even if the old model is gone. Marianne talks about skipping the big-tractor step and going straight to autonomous, and how she is now dropping three-page supplier PDFs into AI and getting them coded for Xero categories in seconds. And why the compliance burden in farm businesses still falls so heavily on women. Coming later to farming as a career and a life, Hugo and Marianne discuss what WAFarmers needs to do about declining farmer numbers through pure communication, leveraging its hard earned reputation, and trust. These are the conversations farmers are actually having around the kitchen table, in the ute - and watching the sun rise over Hyden before breaky, on a cold morning in July! Listening to this episode feels like being immersed right there in the heart of the wheatbelt yourself. Chapters: 0:00 Morocco, live export and a leaner model 8:35 Yards built from a clean slate 15:45 Valuer and teacher to farmers 17:22 $1,200 an acre in Boyup Brook 25:44 Autonomous gear and AI in the office 34:05 Compliance, women and WAFarmers Produced for and on behalf of WAFarmers by Mic Fels (2026 Vice President). If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, and give it a like (and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!) — it helps get these conversations in front of more farmers, voters and policy makers who need to hear them. Drop a comment below, or follow us on our socials @WAFarmers with your thoughts, and subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes. If you value what we do, support us by joining WAFarmers now: https://members.wafarmers.org.au/auth/register

In this special Episode 3 of ON WAFarmers, host Mic Fels is joined by WAFarmers CEO Trevor Whittington and recruitment specialist Ley Webster from 2WorkInOz to unpack the Federal Government’s sudden throttling of Working Holiday Maker (417) visa processing — announced just as Western Australia’s $10 billion grain crop heads towards harvest. Trevor explains the politics behind the decision, the real numbers on backpackers versus net migration, why Pacific Island workers can’t simply replace skilled European and Canadian machine operators, and why the housing argument doesn’t stack up for regional farm workers. Looking to the future, Trevor makes the clear case for a dedicated agricultural visa that actually matches the skills and accommodation reality of broadacre farming. Ley Webster then joins Mic to detail what’s happening on the ground right now: visa applications were cleared in seconds or days are now still unresponded after 6–7 weeks, skilled operators who have already quit jobs and booked flights are in limbo, and her practical proposal to escalate processing for anyone with a confirmed harvest job offer and employer letter. With only a handful of Australian applicants among 60 skilled CVs on her desk, the shortage is real — and the safety and productivity stakes are high. This is the conversation every farmer and regional employer needs to have before the WA harvest starts in six weeks - and counting. ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Interview: CEO Trevor Whittington 01.00 Federal Government’s Immigration Slowdown 02:00 What’s Happening with Working Holiday Maker Visas? 03:00 Working Holiday Visas Explained 04:00 The Real Numbers: Working Holiday Makers in Australia 06:00 Net Migration vs Backpackers: The Real Story 07:00 Government Targeting Farmers, Not Universities 08:00 Housing Crisis: The Backpacker Red Herring 10:00 City vs Country: The Immigration Divide 11:00 Cost of Living & Food Security at Risk 12:00 The Case for a Dedicated Ag Visa 13:00 $10 Billion Crop at Risk 14:00 Different Skill Sets, Different Needs 16:00 Interview: Ley Webster, Recruitment Agent 18:00 417 Visa Throttling: What’s Actually Happening 20:00 Visa Processing Delays: 6–7 Weeks and Counting 21:00 Ley’s Proposal: Expedited Processing for Critical Farm Workers 24:00 Only 4 Australians in 60 CVs 25:00 COVID Parallels & Safety Concerns 27:00 A Win-Win for Skilled Workers 28:00 What To Do Next If you value what we do, support us by joining WAFarmers now: https://members.wafarmers.org.au/auth/register Produced for and on behalf of WAFarmers by Mic Fels (2026 Vice President). If you found this episode useful, please share it with a friend and give it a like — it helps get these conversations in front of more farmers, voters and policy makers who need to hear them. Drop a comment below or follow us on our socials @WAFarmers with your thoughts, and subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes. There’s plenty more knowledge to unpack.