Western Australia Country Hour

A $3 billion energy project, that could become Australia's biggest green hydrogen producer, has today been given federal government backing, in the form of a $1.6 million cash injection.

The recent deluge of rain across WA's Northern Goldfields and Nullarbor has been frustration for the mining industry. Several projects have had production or construction either slowed or stopped due to the record downpour. 

Ross Wood, was evacuated from Rawlinna Station by helicopter on Wednesday. He said when the flood water started seeping through the floorboards in the living room he knew this was a unique event.

Australia's commercial gardening and nursery sector has gone public with its concerns about Bunnings. It's raised serious allegations against the company's market power and how it treats growers.

Deputy leader of the Nationals WA has called on the Premier to sack the state agriculture minister over her dealings with Canberra on the future of the live sheep trade by sea.

Unprecedented rain has fallen in WA's south east and more is on the way. Rawlinna station, Australia's largest sheep station has had 200 millimetres of rain and station manager Jimmy Wood said "I don't turn my back on rain very often, but if it stopped raining now I'd be pretty happy."

Tim Carmody and his family run Prenti Downs station, around 900 km north east of Perth. He says it started raining last Tuesday and since then he has recorded 136 millimetres of very welcome rain.

Merino SA president believes there would be far reaching consequences if the shut-down of the live sheep trade by sea goes ahead as planned. 

Australian charity BlazeAid is rebuilding fences on farms north of Geraldton after a devastating fire just before Christmas.

Leader of the federal National Party and shadow minister for agriculture says the WA Premier needs to get on a plane to Canberra and use his political capital to ensure a future for the live sheep trade.

Some of the biggest and most welcome rains across WA's agricultural region over the weekend fell around Hyden, about 300 kilometres south east of Perth.

The only abattoir in WA's north has just gone into voluntary administration. What will that mean for northern pastoralists?  

The operator of the only large-scale abattoir in northern Western Australia KMC has called in administrators amid an ongoing government investigation and the pursuit of its parent company over millions in unpaid debts.

The owner of a Pilbara cattle station says it's been almost two years since the last decent rain and he's now investing a lot of money in bores and feeder bins to ensure his cattle are fed and watered.

For a lot of people in Western Australia, ex Tropical Cyclone Lincoln turned into a bit of a fizzer. The low pressure system did bring some rain to properties that needed it, but maybe not as much as what was needed.

Australia has processed a record number of lambs in 2023. Almost 25 million lambs were through the meat works last year, smashing the previous record set in 2016 by almost two million head.

This year's first shipment of WA cattle to Indonesia is on the water, another is scheduled to leave the Port of Fremantle today and the first ship out of the north, leaving Broome, is scheduled for the first week of March.

DPIRD January figures reveal 104, 500 WA sheep and lambs went to the eastern states. That is a  201 per cent increase on the December figures and the highest monthly total since November 2022.

The federal minister for climate change and energy has revealed plans for an offshore wind farm in the state's south-west.

Carnarvon fruit farmer Wes Bassett says the ongoing heatwave could wipe out up to half of his avocados.