THE Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA (PGA) will be hosting a Pastoral Forum for the first time in recent years as part of its two-day 2019 convention to be held at The Botanicals, Crown Perth, on Thursday, August 1 and Friday, August 2.
The forum will focus on pastoral industry specific issues, with a range of speakers including the Pastoral Lands Board chair Tim Shackleton, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development representatives and WA pastoralists.
A range of topics will be discussed focusing on policy, technology and approaches to conservation, including the State government's pastoral reform process, wild dogs, R&D with drones and remote monitoring and surveillance and environmental management.
Mayne Jenour, will discuss drones in wild dog management and more.
Mr Jenour operated a grain and prime lamb enterprise, opportunistic cattle feedlot and contract crutching business in the Boyup Brook district post university, before relocating to Dandaragan to expand his operations.
He moved into cropping, prime lamb production and sheep trading before deciding to expand further into contract harvesting, hay baling, mowing and swathing, as well as a cropping program on leased properties spread between Dandaragan, Miling and Dalwallinu.
In 2010 he was successful in obtaining a tree planting contract with an ASX-listed company to plant 10 million trees for carbon sequestration.
All cropping and other contracting was ceased and the farms were used to trade 100,000 sheep per year for a major live export company.
Taking an interest in the corporate sector led Mr Jenour to establish a renewable energy company importing German technology to convert organic waste into energy and fertiliser.
At the same time he saw an opportunity to re-invest into the sheep industry as prices for meat and wool were low and he thought there was only a price upside due to the increasing world demand for protein and natural fibre clothing trends.
Mr Jenour's operation currently consists of a beef, wool and prime lamb enterprise over seven properties in Capel, Donnybrook, Beverley, Gingin and Dandaragan.
Jingemarra station at Yalgoo was purchased in 2017 to further expand the sheep enterprise.
The prospect of controlling wild dogs over vast areas of inaccessible country led Mr Jenour to research the availability of long-flight drones to potentially track the wild dogs and gain information on their habits, movements, den locations and watering points.
Partnering up with Nigel Brown, from Autonomous Technology, and with support from the State government's Wild Dog Action Plan R&D grant, led to the development of a purpose built autonomous helicopter and the formation of the company RPAWA (Remote Piloted Aircraft of WA).
On Friday, August 2, the PGA will hold its convention, which PGA president Tony Seabrook said was the premier annual conference for Western Australian primary producers and pastoralists.
Host of Radio 6PR Perth Live Oliver Peterson will be the keynote speaker following opening addresses from Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie and State Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan.
Earlier this year after hosting a program about the bullying of farming families following the release of the Aussie Farms map, which was created by animal rights activists and pinpointed the addresses of farming families across the country, Mr Peterson and his family, including his six-month-old son, were viciously and abusively targeted by vegan activists online and during a live radio show at Westfield Carousel shopping centre in Cannington.
PGA president Tony Seabrook said he was "excited to be welcoming Oliver to our 2019 convention".
"In today's era where farmers, pastoralists and rural businesses are under constant attack both in the media and online from vegan activists, Oliver, as a major media presence has stood up to these bullies and continues to support the hardworking families of rural and remote Western Australia," Mr Seabrook said.
"We look forward to hearing first-hand about his experiences in dealing with animal activists and his thoughts on how as an industry we can better future proof ourselves against their continual onslaught on our livelihoods."
The PGA has also been able to attract Steve Harris, from Perth's largest advertising and communications agency The Brand Agency, as another keynote speaker.
Mr Harris joined the agency in 1997 and headed the business from 2002 until 2005 when he took over leadership of the entire business.
He served as the fourth president of the Fremantle Dockers, from 2009 to 2016, and was a former director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA.
Mr Harris is also a director of Healthway WA.
As a keen strategist he has worked on multiple successful election and political biased campaigns, including the 2016 campaign against the introduction of the WA mining tax.
The Brand Agency is a full service agency with specialists in all areas of communications, including experts in adverting creative and design, PR and social media, strategy, media management and brand activation.
Its client list includes major national and international companies, government departments, small businesses, and not for profits.
Mr Seabrook said they were "fortunate to have such an outstanding business and advertising professional such as Steve address our 2019 convention".
"At a time when some in the farming community believe that the only way to protect our industry against future threats is by taxing farmers in order to collect a big pot of money to spend on feel good campaigns, it will be refreshing to hear from a leader in the advertising and communications arena over how best to create realistic and effective campaigns that will future proof our industry," Mr Seabrook said.
