Western Australia Country Hour

Internal documents reveal government officials are privately warning about the risks of a growing reliance on Elon Musk's satellite internet service Starlink. 

The Pastoralist and Graziers Association says agricultural innovation is being stymied in the Kimberley with the state government refusing to release any surface water for farm projects in the region.

Former state Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan is representing Victory Metals who want to establish Australia's largest heavy rare earth clay project in the Mid West.  

The Haggerty family has decided to let robots milk their cows. It means their workers can focus on other aspects of the farming enterprise.

Beef exports to China are expected to ease rapidly as Australia fast approaches this year's quota which will trigger an additional 55 per cent tariff on beef imports.

A flapping drone disguised as a peregrine falcon is giving hope to strawberry growers, who are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of fruit to rainbow lorikeets each year.

Leo Skliros grows mangoes in the Northern Territory and says the wage increase is "another nail in the coffin."

The science and economics research division of the Department of Agriculture, ABARES, is forecasting the value of agricultural production to fall by 5 per cent to $98 billion in 2026-27.

The Northern Territory's biggest bull sale was held in Katherine on Friday, with some buyers travelling from WA's Kimberley to take part.

Rural businesses are worried they will struggle to find workers as the government comes under pressure to cut immigration numbers.

The company behind one of the state's few biofuel refineries has plans to make renewable diesel fuel from canola, straw and wood residue for the WA market.

Western Australia's total wheat area planted is expected to be down 14 per cent on last season.

The main players in the WA scallop industry have turned their attention to the state's south coast, after a marine heatwave, early last year, wiped out scallop populations off the west coast at Shark Bay and the Abrolhos Islands.

Holes in Australia's sovereign capability exposed by Iran war supply chain issues.

The Federal Government has released a discussion paper on proposals to extend Australia's Right to Repair framework for agricultural machinery.

After receiving some very generous donations, the charity group Farmers Across Borders is back on the road and about to deliver some much needed hay to pastoralists across the Gascoyne and Murchison.

On World Bee Day, a moment to acknowledge their incredible work and the many threats they face.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ordered another six companies to divest their holdings in Northern Minerals as concerns grow in Canberra that Chinese-backed investors are trying to seize control of the rare earths mining company.

Australia's chemical regulator, the APVMA, has conditionally approved an emergency permit for double-strength mouse baits to be manufactured and used on grain paddocks. 

The Federal Court has dismissed the northern cattle industry's appeal on the scale of losses incurred following the 2011 live export ban to Indonesia.

The state's Legislative Council has backed calls for the state government to investigate removing dingoes' classification as pests under WA biosecurity laws.

What's in last night's federal budget for me? 

The Federal Court will today decide how much native title holders in the Pilbara will be compensated for mining without consent on their land. 

The Premier has confirmed DWER, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, is investigating the iron ore dust concerns raised at the Port of Geraldton.

WA grain growers have been working around the clock to plant this season's crop, which will be the earliest start and finish to planting on record.

The president of a Mid West shire says it's vital farmers are given access to stronger mouse baits this season to stem what she's calling a "mouse plague".

A key case begins in the High Court today that will decide who owns footage illegally obtained in an abattoir in north east Victoria. 

A new 'Women in Whaling'  exhibition has been unveiled at the Great Southern Museum in Albany.

Despite strong opposition, a controversial $500 million wind farm proposed for the South West has been given the green light.

Growers are asking questions about the assistance on offer from the state government to help Carnarvon growers who've experienced four severe weather events since the start of the year.

Peak industry body Vegetables WA says the carrot industry has found a new pathway to Middle East markets, ensuring export volumes remain almost the same as they were prior to the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.

An energy finance analyst says Australia needs to increase its national fuel stockpile and start looking at measures to electrify industry to reduce diesel demand.

Carnarvon farmers are wondering what sort of disaster has to occur before the current state and federal governments offer genuine assistance.

Gas producers Woodside, Chevron and Santos are giving evidence at a Senate inquiry in Perth, into how Australia's gas resources are taxed.

Grain growers, concerned about a mouse plague this season, can't believe the national chemical regulator is ignoring CSIRO research that shows stronger baits are required to control a plague.

One of Western Australia's two remaining coal mines is set to cut jobs and production, citing slowing demand for coal-fired power as a key factor.

Since he was a teenager, Indonesian fisherman Dora Hamidung has been venturing into Australian waters to illegally catch sharks and sea cucumbers. 

The world's biggest livestock export ship sailed out of Darwin on the weekend, with more than 17,000 head of cattle bound for Indonesia.

This year's grain season is unlikely to break any harvest records as growers adjust their seeding programs to accommodate for concerns around the supply and cost of fuel and fertiliser.

WA winemakers are calling on the state government to pause the extension of the Containers for Change program, warning it could drive up costs for both producers and wine drinkers. 

State agriculture minister Jackie Jarvis has met with WA fertiliser companies to discuss current and future supply concerns for the farm sector, as the conflict in the Middle East continues.

The WA Government says four-million litres of diesel will be delivered to the state within weeks as part of a strategic stockpile to address localised fuel shortages.