WAFarmers, formerly the Western Australian Farmers Federation, is an agricultural organisation in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

History

As early as 1890 some farming organisations had been formed in

, with the Wheatgrowers' Association being formed in 1908. In March 1912 the Farmers and Settlers' Association was formed in part as a response to a letter to WA farmers from the Rural Workers' Union of Australia discussing farm workers' wages and merged with the Wheatgrowers' Association. The Farmers and Settlers' Association, together with the Producers' Union, formed the business Westralian Farmers (known later as Wesfarmers) in 1913. They also established a new political party, the Country Party, to obtain representation in both state and federal parliaments. In 1920, the Farmers and Settlers' Association changed its name to the Primary Producers' Association (PPA). Large numbers of small-scale farmers, many of them veterans of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with backgrounds as mineworkers or in other industries, entered the industry during the 1920s. They formed a new, separate Wheat Growers' Union in 1930, and later became known as the Wheat and Wool Growers' Union (WAWGU). The Union, along with counterparts in other Australian states, was politically closer to the political left than the PPA, and many of its members initially supported the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(and even included supporters of the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian communist party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been ...

). Nevertheless, the two organisations cooperated on a joint committee in 1932, to investigate bulk wheat handling. This led to the establishment in 1932 of

CBH Group The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling) is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. History CBH was formed on 5 April 1933, at a ...

, financed by Westralian Farmers. The Primary Producers' Association created separate sections in 1932 for its commodities (initially wheat, wool and dairy, later adding barley and oats, meat, bees, and poultry) and the political aspects, and in 1944 the political section and the Country Party separated from the PPA completely, forming the Country and Democratic League. In spite of their political differences the PPA and WAWGU merged in 1946, to form the Farmers' Union of Western Australia. The name was changed in 1982 to the Primary Industry Association, and again in 1987, to the Western Australian Farmers Federation, to more closely align itself with the

National Farmers' Federation The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) is an Australian non-profit membershipbased organisation that represents farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia. The NFF has been a key player in a number of industrial relations disputes, includ ...

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Official website
Organisations based in Western Australia 1912 establishments in Australia Agricultural organisations based in Australia Farmers' organizations