ALTHOUGH the stakes are getting higher, WA farmers continue to roll the dice each growing season.
Rising production costs, unpredictable commodity prices, climactic variability, low profit margins and significant debt levels have all increased farmer's vulnerability to risk.
In an attempt to reduce some of their risk, Bunjil grain growers Brad and Joanne Hirsch have signed up for Multi Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI).
They were in fact the first farmers in WA to sign up to MPCI, a move which they hope will safeguard their business against the growing risk factors involved in planting a crop each year.
Located in the marginal north eastern Wheatbelt region, the Hirschs have experienced the highs and lows of primary production, and hope to remove some of the uncertainty surrounding their business.
The pair will be covered for drought and frost under Latevo International's revenue-based insurance scheme this season.
Latevo is the only MPCI provider in WA after prospective insurance provider Swiss Re and its United State's partner The Climate Corporation pulled interest after it labelled WA's weather radar stations "yesterday's technology" last year.
The Hirschs have experienced three severe droughts in the last 10 years, two of which occurred after they left the family partnership in 2005.
In 2009 they destocked and shifted focus onto sole crop production, and are now cropping 2500 hectares annually.
"Rising farming input costs have meant profits are so much less, and it reduces people's ability to recover from disastrous events," Ms Hirsch said.
"After the drought we felt like we didn't move forward at all.
"It's only in the past three years that we actually feel like we have started to make progress again."
Mr Hirsch said they were keen to expand the size of their farm in order to remain viable, and by taking out MPCI, he hoped the banks would look at them more favourably when lending money. "When you want to buy another farm, the first thing they will ask is what happens if you have your worst drought the next season," he said.
"This scheme will hopefully help us to borrow more money because it removes the risk.
"What we are paid out is based on our second worst year in five years.
"So if we don't make $306 a hectare they bring the payment up to that.
"If we have a really bad drought, they will give us $306/ha.
"Next year it goes up to $440 if we can get rid of our worst year record."
Mr Hirsch said he would reassess cover in August and if there was moisture available and the crops were looking good he would also take out fire and hail damage insurance.
"Last year we had a dry spell during the growing season and everyone was worried," he said.
"It knocked back everyone's yields, but if (the season) hadn't come back we question whether that would have been it for us.
"You see people walking off the land all the time but at least with this you can be sure you will get some money to put some fertiliser on next year.
"Then if there are two years in a row, why wouldn't a bank finance you to pay for that premium.
"We didn't think we would have two bad years in a row but we have seen it and hopefully when that happens again we are prepared."
Mr Hirsch said he hoped by attempting to reduce their production risks, the banks would bring down interest rates.
"We still don't know if they will finance us, but we have reduced the risk," he said.
Ms Hirsch said paying stamp duty on MPCI was a significant impost on their business.
"I believe stamp duty is another government tax," she said.
"Farmers and other businesses already pay too much stamp duty.
"To subject us to stamp duty with MPCI simply tells me the government is not willing to support agriculture.
"Australia is going to lose a huge intellectual pool of knowledge in farming systems by not backing agriculture."
She said the couple were trying to be proactive in decreasing farm business risk, which would reduce the burden on government.
"It is quite bizarre that we would try to tax something that has the potential to drought-proof every farmer in Australia," Mr Hirsch said.
Although excited about the potential for MPCI in WA, the pair admit there are a number of unanswered questions.
"The problem with all of this is that it's new to us as well," Mr Hirsch said.
"We are still working on the ins and outs, because every time we answer one question we have another one.
"When we have a claim we will be able to see how much we get because it is like insuring your car, it is very simple, but when you sit down with a claim it could be hard to get the money because it is not done by yield, it is done by cash.
"It is new, but in the long term this is a good scheme, in principle."
Mr Hirsch said climate change and price volatility for grain, meat and wool were significant challenges for the future of the WA industry, but he was optimistic.
In 2014 the Hirschs plan to implement a cropping program comprised of 1300ha wheat, 600ha barley and 600ha canola.
