Western Australia Country Hour

Primary producers in the Esperance region say they are fighting an influx of wild pigs.

There is a lot of uncertainty over when the east-west rail line might be operational.

Micro-abattoir gives Kimberley cattle producer 'alternative' when markets get tough.

Grain Producers Australia hasn't given up on its plans to reduce grower levies paid to the GRDC, despite the proposal being knocked back by federal agriculture minister Julie Collins.

Farmers in Western Australia's Midwest are calling on the Australian Defence Force to remove, or clarify the risk from, potential unexploded military ordnance from as far back as World War II.    

A WA marine biologist says she doesn't think temporary fishing closures in several select areas delivers results.

WA hop growers are gearing up for the 2026 harvest season, which is expected to start in coming weeks.

Albany Woollen Mills' 101 years celebrated via shared love of blankets.

The billion-dollar Kemerton refinery, near Bunbury, is set to be placed into care and maintenance, effective immediately, impacting almost 300 jobs. 

There's a renewed push for a full review of the way fires are managed in regional Western Australia, after what volunteers are calling "decades of mismanagement." 

The Kimberley Cotton Gin has just completed its first operational season. 

Some Pilbara pastoralists are relieved after finally getting some rain.

Fisheries minister Jackie Jarvis has hinted that the West Coast Demersal fishery may re open in the future to commercial fishers, if there is a significant recovery of stocks. 

The head of the WA Fishing Industry Council says demersal fishers have been 'starved out' by the WA Government and forced into accepting an inappropriate compensation pay out. 

The transition advocate, helping the WA sheep industry adjust to the closure of the live sheep trade by sea, says it takes time to assess how best to allocate the $139.8 million assistance package.

One of the veterans of the WA livestock sector says for the first time in a long time there's some real optimism about the future of the sheep industry in Western Australia, especially among those who've stayed in sheep.  

A staple in the Aztec diet has become a viral TikTok trend sweeping social media — the "chia seed challenge" promising weight loss, improved gut health and digestion.

Carnarvon farmers are hoping a heatwave forecast for next week isn't as severe as the last one which has cost them about a million dollars in losses. 

Home owners living next door to the world's biggest lithium mine, in the state's South West, are calling on the miner to create a home buyback or relocation scheme.

The long term trend of people drinking less wine globally is evident in Wine Australia's export report for last year. 

WA competitors performed well at Australia's biggest rodeo event at Tamworth, in north east New South Wales, over the weekend.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Luana has brought heavy rainfall to stations across the north.

The charity group Farmers Across Borders is preparing to take truck loads of straw and hay to pastoralists in the Gascoyne and Murchison.

Lumpy skin disease has been detected for the first time in the tourist hotspot of Bali, Indonesia.

An adventurous American has trained and rode a horse across Australia.

The Singaporean businessman behind WA's billion dollar Wagyu operation says China's tariff on beef exports should be viewed as an opportunity for Australia. 

A few hundred people participated in a car rally over the weekend over the controversial demersal fishing bans that came into effect at the start of this year.

Farmers and pastoralists in the Kimberley are facing financial losses and safety risks with a key weather radar expected to be offline for three months.

WA volunteer fire fighters and local councils are investing in expensive Starlink satellite units to stay connected during bushfires.

A company planning to bring competition to the WA grains industry, with a series of small transhipment ports in Western Australia, is calling on the state government to contribute $2 million towards the approval process.

A fruit grower in Carnarvon, 900 kilometres north of Perth, has harvested a huge mango.

WA farmers delivering to the Geraldton Port are having their grain, particularly their wheat, discounted by up to $20 per tonne, compared to growers delivering to the Kwinana Port.

A handful of Western Australia's grain growers are still harvesting, taking off the remains of a record crop, which is likely to exceed, 26.5 million tonnes.

As WA demersal fishers await government compensation for new fishing bans, commercial operators in the Kimberley fear they've been forgotten.

In WA's Gascoyne region it's the end of an era with the sale of Challa station, just near Mount Magnet, 600 kilometres north-east of Perth.

The analysis around China's decision to impose a 55 per cent tariff on Australian beef exceeding the 205, 000 tonne tariff continues today.

Today WAFIC CEO Melissa Haslam goes into a fair bit of detail about why she thinks the state government should re-consider permanent demersal fishing bans and the compensation that's currently being offered. 

Happy New Year...unless you earn a living catching demersal fish.

Farewell 2025...and thanks for the record grain crop.

Today you'll hear the latest on a serious bushfire in the Harvey Shire and you'll also hear from the owner of a pearl farm that's currently in the forecast path of Tropical Cyclone Hayley.