A CAN that has been kicked down the road for a very long time has finally reached its destination, and what an enviable destination it is.
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I refer to last week's announcement from the State government about its commitment to establish the new Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) headquarters that will also house Australian Export and Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) and InterGrain.
This is fantastic news for the State's grain industry, not to mention all of agriculture and regional development.
Congratulations to outgoing Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan and Premier Mark McGowan for actually taking action and dedicating $320 million toward the new facility.
It is a very significant investment and I dare say the processes involved in securing that level of funding from Treasury would have been hard fought and thankfully won.
It is a smart move to co-locate the new centre at Murdoch University allowing further collaboration between the research bodies and sensibly following on from the establishment of the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration earlier this year, between all the universities, the CSIRO and DPIRD.
And with AEGIC and InterGrain under the same roof, the research, development and extension activities will be first-class.
It was very pleasing to hear Ms MacTiernan again reminding everyone of the massive importance of agriculture to our State's economy, and that agriculture is WA's second biggest primary industry behind mining.
She has always recognised the importance of grains research and development and has continued to back that belief right to the very end of her term as minister.
No clearer evidence of this could be found, given this latest commitment to Western Australian agriculture.
This investment is real, tangible and will deliver positive outcomes for WA farmers.
Significantly also in the announcement was the recognition of the ongoing challenges of climate change and the need to support farmers to maintain and increase profitability while transitioning to a lower carbon future.
I find it quite a paradox that carbon is the universal building block for life but is also an existential threat to humankind on earth.
Gearing up to adapt to our changing climate will be essential for the survival and prosperity of farmers and this will need to happen conjunctionally with our transition to lower our emissions and capture more carbon through our farming practices.
Ms MacTiernan and DPIRD have unfairly copped flack in their efforts to introduce the farming community to what is required to navigate the carbon journey.
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They have spoken at length about the opportunities that exist for the integration of sustainable farming practices into our systems that will provide a financial and social return for agriculture. No one likes change and, even worse, no one likes change if there is a perceived cost to that change.
But someone had to be brave enough to flag what our industry needs to do in order to be sustainable, meet community expectations and very importantly meet the requirements of our customers when they look to buy our commodities.
Buyers will be seeking produce that has a low carbon footprint and I am certain one day they will be demanding produce that is carbon neutral.
As an example, the European Union will be introducing its carbon border adjustment mechanism in 2026 ultimately compelling suppliers to reduce emissions by forcing buyers in the EU to pay a carbon tariff if imported products don't meet EU carbon offset targets.
Admittedly only applying initially to commodities like steel, cement, fertiliser, electricity and aluminum, how long will it be before grain falls into the same requirement?
It would be wise to be ahead of the game rather than trying to play catch up.
It is wonderful to finally see action taken on this long awaited and crucially important industry need.
The planned DPIRD precinct will be an exceptional collaborative facility for research, innovation and marketing and I congratulate the State government for making the decision to proceed with its establishment for the benefit of all in the agricultural world.
