THEY are the heart and soul of any Wheatbelt community, instilling an unwavering sense of pride in spectators and healthy competition between neighbouring towns.
Indeed, the local football team is a staple of country WA's social scene.
Keeping such organisations vibrant often requires bigger and better fundraising ideas.
But forget the chocolate frogs, cake stalls and raffle tickets, because the mighty Mingenew Bulldogs are one community group that know how to throw one heck of a fundraiser.
With a total of 120 kilograms of donated seed, 60 hectares of dirt, a lot of community spirit and a sprinkling of rain during the year, the Mingenew Football Club stepped up to harvest its crop last week.
For more than a decade the crop has helped the community secure the future of its beloved footy team, and for the first time, 2013 saw canola as the seed of choice.
Sponsored by Landmark, Elders, CSBP, Pioneer, Summit, Monsanto, CLAAS, it is hoped the crop will help to see the Bulldogs chase their way to another successful premiership win in the North Midlands Football League.
Elders cropping manager Rob Campbell initiated this year's program and when he contacted four seed companies late last year, he was bowled over by the response.
In no time Pioneer Seeds expressed enthusiasm to get involved and jumped on board.
"We've had wheat and lupin seeds donated in the past, but never canola before because it's a big expense," Mr Campbell said.
"We're just really appreciative of the sponsorship we got from Pioneer."
It is hoped the club will take in between 60 and 70 tonnes of canola this harvest to raise between $25,000 to $30,000.
Mr Campbell said the much-needed funds would help to pay players and run the club.
"Mingenew has been pretty lucky the last few years having this crop in to raise funds and keep the club running," he said.
Pioneer Seeds representative Rob Bagley said the project was great because it allowed the company to get involved in and give back to the community.
"Rob sells a bit of our 43Y23 and he asked if we'd be interested in donating any of our seed, so I approached Pioneer and the management were more than willing to be associated with the footy club," Mr Bagley said.
"So we've donated the seed and Monsanto waived the fee for the Roundup Ready GM canola.
"It has been a wheat-lupin rotation for quite a while and the opportunity came up to put in some Round Up Ready canola and we jumped at the chance."
Mingenew Football Club president Daniel Michael, who has been on the committee for about 10 years, said the club had had the crop for as long as he could remember.
"It's fantastic and we couldn't do it without sponsors and the support of the community," he said.
