MUNGLINUP farmer Maxwell Szulc is hopeful a mediation program will help him avoid a second jail term related to illegal land clearing and contempt of court charges.
After a directions hearing in the WA Supreme Court last Wednesday, a second mediation program on June 24 to try and reach agreement was recommended.
Mr Szulc said mediation would deal with the civil issue of unlawful clearing and the criminal matter of contempt.
He said a lot had changed since the first mediation session more than 12 months ago.
Mr Szulc was granted legal aid after a second contempt hearing on March 21 was adjourned due to his lack of legal representation.
National Party agricultural region electoral officer Phil Bellamy has also agreed to attend mediation sessions.
"Mr Bellamy has already been a successful negotiator for farmers," Mr Szulc said.
"The possibility of having better mediators in the process can turn the whole thing around.
"Where I've probably gone wrong before is I've asked all the wrong questions and not been able to give the right answers.
"There always has to be give and take for mediation to be successful and parties on both sides probably have a fair ability to give a bit.
"If I can hear their viewpoints again and the argument they hold is acceptable, then I'll seriously have a look at it and I would hope also they look at my points and what I may be offered as compensating factors."
Mr Szulc said interruptions to his work and medium-term plans due to the court action had been awkward and tied up a lot of resources.
"If that wasn't there any more, I could get on with producing more grain and there may be something I can offer the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) to make them happy," he said.
"At least something will be sorted out even if it just makes things easier and sorts out the wheat from the chaff in the information relative to going to trial.
"I don't think it will be a waste of time as it will give us an answer to things unable to be dealt with quickly in court."
If matters cannot be resolved during mediation, Mr Szulc faces a third contempt charge after his Legal Aid Commission barrister Gary Rodgers was handed a summons during the hearing.
The third contempt charge is related to the visit by four DEC officers to Mr Szulc's 930 hectare property on May 18 last year where it was alleged Mr Szulc had ploughed an area covered by the original injunction granted by Supreme Court Chief Justice Wayne Martin.
Mr Szulc said Mr Martin viewed contempt of court seriously.
"Being found guilty of contempt the second time around will end up with a much longer period than the three months that I had before," he said.
Mr Szulc was jailed for three months last year for contempt of court after he continued to clear 40ha of vegetation regrowth after being served a Vegetation Conservation Notice by the DEC.
"This is an issue that covers about 1000 farmers in WA because they cleared regrowth on their property and can't do anything because of the way the legislation and regulations have been set up," Mr Szulc said.
"It does wear you down and I haven't been able to afford too many rump steaks lately.
"It's quite costly and I have to persevere with it because if I give up three-quarters of the way through, it's a terrible waste."
