Western Australia Country Hour

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.  

Today you'll get an update on fires, floods and cyclones in WA and the Top End.  

Let's find out how feral your Christmas is going to be this year... 

Unusual changes to salinity levels and water flows have been observed on farms beside South32's Worsley mine.

Commercial fishing operators in Western Australia haven't given up hope of changing the state governments mind on demersal bans.  

A new national gun buy-back scheme has just been announced.

Sino–American company Talison Lithium has ruled out a rail link to the world's biggest lithium mine at Greenbushes in West Australia's South West region.

More fires are in Western Australia's grain growing areas. A volunteer fire fighter has lost his life and hundreds of sheep have been lost. 

The head of the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association is hoping any future changes to national firearms laws don't ignore the fact farmers and station owners need guns and they are used as tools.  

The state's main grain handler, CBH Group has today revealed a surplus of $208.3 million for the last financial year, ending September 2025.

A commercial fishing family in Augusta said they are losing more than just a business after last week's announcement by the State Government.

Western Australia is on track for a record-breaking grain harvest this season, but there is mounting concern over potential delivery bottlenecks and storage shortages across key growing regions.

The Australian honey industry is investigating the purity of imported honey.

For students in rural and remote areas of Australia, the social media ban takes effect just as the long school holidays begin.

Western Australian growers delivered 3.9 million tonnes to the CBH network over the past week, pushing total receivals past 15.2 million tonnes.

Major WA livestock processor, V&V Walsh has announced it will offer forward contracts over $10 per kilo for trade and supermarket lambs over the Christmas and New Year period.

Australian grain growers have overwhelmingly said they want a reduction in the compulsory levy they pay for grains research and development. 

The Western Australian government has announced significant fishing restrictions, which will impact both commercial and recreational fishers.

There have been widespread reports of increased sheep flystrike in parts of Western Australia. 

Australia's new environment legislation became law this morning after the Greens support allowed the bills to sail through the senate yesterday.

Labor has struck a deal with the Greens to overhaul Australia's "broken" environmental laws.

This year the Country Hour celebrates 80 years on air, making it Australia's longest-running radio program.

The head of Australia's Invasive Species Council says bureaucratic delays are crippling pest control efforts nationwide, leading to an increase in rabbit numbers. 

Western Australia is officially set to harvest a record grain crop of twenty-six-point-six million tonne, according to the latest Grains industry association of WA crop report.

Today is 'Back to Market Buyers' Day' at the Canning Vale markets. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he makes no apology for a government backed program buying fishing boats for illegal fishers in Australia's north.

Meat and Livestock Australia has just released its official lamb and beef production figures for the last quarter.

A Victorian crop assessor, who spent the past week touring farms across the Midwest and Wheatbelt believes the recent storm that swept through key grain-growing regions has caused substantial damage.

Rural news and events from Western Australia and the nation.

The Liberal shadow ministry has agreed to dump net zero by 2050 from the party's platform.

Plans for another large-scale wind farm in WA's wheatbelt have been revealed, this time at Dandaragan, 160 kilometers north of Perth.

Cane toads are on the move again, and this time specialists say it's only a matter of time before they reach the Pilbara.

Foreign-owned aquaculture company Tassal has recorded another fish kill, this time at its barramundi farm at remote Cone Bay, on the Kimberley coast.

The formal resumption of Australia's canola trade to China would be an incredible market gain for Australian farmers. 

Wild weather, over the past few days, has caused widespread damage across the state's agricultural region, with everything from extensive crop damage, to some sheep being struck by lightning.

A Great Southern farmer is heading to Parliament House in Canberra today to urge the federal government to start taking prostate cancer more seriously.

Andrew Forrest has launched a fresh legal bid to build an irrigation system along part of the Ashburton River, which flows through his Minderoo Station, in WA's Pilbara.

The $55 million sale of Yeeda Pastoral Company and its subsidiaries, including the Kimberley Meat Company, near Broome, is now complete.

Victorian flower farmer Caitie O'Grady has watched her black bearded irises bloom just in time for Halloween.

The owners of the biggest cattle station in the world - Anna Creek Station - have been charged over allegedly building illegal dams on inland rivers and waterholes.