Fuel supply concerns increase as Newdegate grain grower warns diesel shortages will impact farming operations

A Newdegate grower said farmers are being left unable to plan for the seeding season and other cropping operations as diesel supplies dry up across parts of regional WA. Davina Hams, who runs a 10,000 hectare farm about 50km south of Newdegate and 70km east of Pingrup drew widespread attention to the issue after a Facebook post about the fuel supply shortage attracted 7500 likes, 1700 comments and 2400 shares. The farming couple dropped in on Premier Roger Cook’s press conference in Albany on Friday to directly voice their concerns about the ongoing fuel shortage in regional WA. Ms Hams said growers across the region were struggling to access diesel, which is needed to begin seeding operations. “We just can’t get fuel,” she said. She said they placed the farm’s annual diesel order for seeding, only to be told there is no supply. “We put in our usual order maybe like 10 days ago and they’re (suppliers) just telling us there’s nothing coming out,” she said. “Our suppliers that we go through locally had their trucks turned away on Saturday and haven’t had a truck since. “They don’t know when they’ll get another one and haven’t been told any information about when it’s going to resume.” Ms Hams said the timing of the shortage could have serious consequences for cropping programs as they rely on a narrow window for different operations. “Everything with cropping is timing-based,” she said. “If we don’t get our crops in on time, the yield potential drops significantly and quickly and then there’s a point where they become completely unviable. “So if the delay turns into weeks and weeks, then it will get to the point where there will be too much money outlaid by funds to make that money back, so it won’t be worth putting a crop in at all.” Farmers are now having to rely on whatever diesel they have stored on properties. “Everyone has got what they’ve already got in their farm storage and that is varying,” Ms Hams said. “Some people have got more, some people have got nearly none because it depends on where they are in their cycle, but I don’t know anyone that is receiving fuel at the moment from a distributor.” Ms Hams said the issue extended beyond the initial seeding period, with diesel needed throughout the season to maintain crops. “It’s not just concerning for seeding,” she said. “Once seeding finishes we’ve still got a lot of work to do to look after those crops throughout the season. “If that diesel supply is interrupted even after seeding and we can’t spray and continue to fertilise and all the other things we have to do, it’s going to be a bit of a disaster for people.” While rising fuel prices were also a concern, Ms Hams said access to diesel remained the immediate problem. “It’s going to cost people a lot of money with the cost of fuel increasing but that is secondary to not getting any fuel,” she said. “Farmers bear the ups and downs of price cycles of everything — this is going to be a major up clearly and we will work that out, but we cannot work it out if we don’t get any fuel — that is catastrophic to our season.” Ms Hams said the biggest problem is the lack of clear information about when deliveries would resume. “The big problem is nobody can make a plan because the only information we’ve been fed so far has been the government saying there is no supply issue which is completely untruthful,” she said. “They have cut off the tankers that cart the fuel from Perth to regional areas — so why have they cut off the supply if there is no supply issue?” When asked by Ms Hams what he was doing to ensure fuel supply to regional communities, Mr Cook said the new industry operations group were working out solutions specific to each town. “We’ll have teams working with distributors and transport authorities to see how to get specific trucks to those areas,” he said. “We know that there’s a shortage at the moment, and farmers like yourself Davina need the fuel now, because you need to get ready for seeding. “We acknowledge that this is a difficult time and that group is meeting daily to make sure that we have all eyes to specific towns like Newdegate.” Despite the uncertainty, Ms Hams said she appreciated the support shown to farmers by people across WA. “I’d like to thank the people of WA for being interested and understanding,” she said. “We have had offers of a lot of help, but we’re sort of backed into a corner when we can’t get supply.”