Some WA farmers feel overlooked by drought discussions

ELEANOR HALL: While the Prime Minister brought some rain to the eastern states, some farmers from Western Australia's Wheatbelt say they've had very little rain for five years and are feeling overlooked by the drought discussions.

The WA Farmers Federation says150 large farms are experiencing severe drought and financial difficulties, as Caitlyn Gribbin reports.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: WA's Wheatbelt is a vital agricultural region. Some farmers in the area have just harvested a record crop but others haven't been so lucky.

CLINT DELLA BOSCA: Well, it's been terrible, everybody destocked; every time there's a puff of wind it generally blows dust from one direction to the other. Yeah, very ordinary.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: Clint Della Bosca grows grain in the eastern Wheatbelt. While his neighbours experienced a record grain harvest for the 2013-2014 season, about 150 large farms are extremely dry.

CLINT DELLA BOSCA: We've had one crop that's been what I would call harvestable in the last five.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: Harvestable - you mean you could actually take it out of the ground and sell it?

CLINT DELLA BOSCA: Yeah, yep.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: What does that do to your bottom line when you can one crop out of five years?

CLINT DELLA BOSCA: Oh, it chews into your equity. We've managed to build up enough fat in the system to last as long as we have, but we can't keep going forever.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: While the Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been touring drought-declared areas of Queensland and New South Wales, Clint Della Bosca says some WA farmers feel excluded from the discussion.

CLINT DELLA BOSCA: There hasn't been enough attention on it. Obviously, the drought they're having in Queensland's a very severe one, and I have a lot of sympathy for the guys that are going through that over there. But no, we still believe we haven't gotten the recognition that growers deserve out here of how dry it's been.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister says he's very aware of what's happening in WA, and is looking at the best way to respond to the drought. While the Prime Minister has no confirmed visit planned for WA, the spokeswoman says Tony Abbott is receiving information from local farmers and stakeholder groups about the drought.

One of those groups is the WA Farmers Federation. Its president is Dale Park.

DALE PARK: There will be farmers there that the banks are looking and saying, we won't lend you any more money to carry on. That's about as bad as it gets so far as farming goes, because the next step is you either have to sell the farm voluntarily or they put the bailiffs in and it gets sold for you.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: Are you hearing stories of potential foreclosures?

DALE PARK: There are a couple out there, yes. So, that's about as bad as it gets.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: Some details have emerged of the drought package the Federal Agriculture Minister wants Cabinet to approve. The ABC understands Barnaby Joyce has made a rough calculation of a $280 million increase to the farm finance package but he hasn't finalised the figures he will put to his colleagues.

Mr Joyce, who says he may travel to WA in the next month or so, is also pushing for the interest rate to be lower than the current 4.5 per cent level. Farmer Clint Della Bosca says that would be helpful.

CLINT DELLA BOSCA: I think what we need is low interests loans to allow the guys to continue farming, because the weather will turn around, and the way things are looking this year, it could very well be this year. So we're just going to need the carry-on finance to be able to do the job properly and put the crop in and hopefully, you know, at least take one step back to getting back on top.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: Dale Park says he'd be worried about a policy that offers more loans to farmers.

DALE PARK: Taking on more debt when you've already got too much is a bit of a problem. But if people want to stay farming, that's probably what they have to do.

CAITLYN GRIBBIN: Looking forward, how can farmers ensure that they plan for drought so that they're not relying on government crisis management?

DALE PARK: Yeah, $64,000 question. When we've looked at how farmers can survive, we've found that the more conservative farmers are the ones that get through a lot easier. We've certainly come to the idea that you have to try and farm as conservatively as possible, but it's not easy, because those that do step out and have the luck of the right timing can then do quite well, so it really is a very, very difficult balancing act.

ELEANOR HALL: Dale Park from the WA Farmers Federation ending that report from Caitlyn Gribbin.