DPIRD services and tools
If you are seeking information on soils, climate, land, water, pests, weeds, diseases, biosecurity, livestock, crops or horticulture try searching our website agric.wa.gov.au.
Pest and Disease Information Service
The Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS) provides advisory and identification services on animal and plant pests, weeds and diseases that impact Western Australia's agriculture and food industries. This service plays an important frontline role for the detection and reporting of unfamiliar and potentially damaging pests, weeds and diseases of agricultural and quarantine concern.
In Western Australia, all owners of livestock, whether they are pets or for commercial purposes are legally required to register with DPIRD's Brands Office. This includes beekeepers.
DDLS - Seed testing and certification services
DLS Seed Testing and Certification (formally AGWEST Plant Laboratories) is a service area under the DPIRD Diagnostic Laboratory Services (DDLS) - an amalgamation of DPIRD plant and animal laboratory and inspection services.This is a ‘one-stop-shop’ for agricultural testing services, including seed testing, crop and potato certification, disease diagnostics, post-entry quarantine services, industrial hemp schemes and weed and insect identification.
This online tool compares the nutrient content of more than 1500 commercially-available fertilisers and allows development of detailed and personalised fertiliser schedules.
This crop irrigation requirement program estimates the quantity of water required to grow a range of crops under different management strategies or seasonal planting scenarios at 14 locations throughout Western Australia. The total amount of water required is calculated using recent historical weather data and the evaporation replacement requirement of specific crops, called crop factors, with adjustments made for planting date, soil type, irrigation system and efficiency.
An app for identifying and reporting pests and diseases. This photo reporting tool allows users to easily create and send a report directly to DPIRD and receive a response on their device. The identification guide allows users to quickly search for a pest according to the damage observed, its type or size. By using the MyPestGuide app you will be supporting your local community, defending Western Australia’s agriculture industry and protecting the natural environment from any unusual, damaging or suspected exotic pests.
This is a community website that allows you to record and map sightings of weeds in your local area. Currently over 50 environmentally and agriculturally significant weeds can be mapped across the state. Other weeds can be added on request.
DPIRD has recently expanded its network of automatic weather stations throughout the State to provide timely, relevant and local weather data to assist growers and regional communities make more informed decisions. Stations provide near real-time data to our website. This data includes air temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, with most stations also measuring incoming solar radiation to calculate evaporation.
The weather stations report to DPIRD’s website every 10 minutes and provide near real time data. Local weather, such as rainfall or frost, can vary widely over short distances. These new weather stations are sited to fill gaps between existing stations to provide good geographical coverage. The weather station data is sent to the Bureau of Meteorology weather services and website as part of national climate data sharing arrangements.
Industry uses this data for time critical agribusiness decision-making. These can range from scheduling irrigation of vegetable crops, through to choosing the right conditions for spraying operations in broad scale crops.
To access the latest climate data and weather information for a particular location visit DPIRD's weather page and simply click a pin on the map or select a station name from the ‘weather stations’ menu.
The department's weather stations app is now also available.
State Government Departments
Local Government Authority (LGA)
Your local council or shire office should be your first point of call for livestock stocking rates, fire preparedness and burning off, rates, the ranger, challenges with neighbours, starting a business and any other major activities you have planned, such as building.
Bureau of Meteorology Western Australia
For information about weather warnings, weather observation, forecasts and climate visit the Bureau of Meteorology website.
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety - Worksafe
WorkSafe is a division of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safetly and its role is the regulation of workplace safety and health in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (the OSH Act). On the website you can find some safety factsheets relevant to farms and small properties.
Department of Environment and Regulation (DER)
If you want to clear land you will need to contact DER to get information about clearing permits. You can also find out more about contaminated sites, illegal dumping, noise, pollution and other environmental issues.
Department of Fire and Emergency Service (DFES)
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) (formerly the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of WA) performs a critical role coordinating emergency services for a range of natural disasters and emergency incidents threatening life and property.
DFES works together with the community and government to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from a diverse range of emergencies.
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development - Fisheries
The DPIRD's Fisheries sector is responsible for the sustainable development of the State’s fisheries. This department is involved in licence regulation and information relating to recreational and commercial fishing. They are also responsible for pearling and fresh water aquaculture.
If you are interested in starting an aquaculture enterprise contact DPIRD - fisheries for more information on resources required for aquaculture, species in production and other information relating to the industry.
The Department of Health has information relating to food businesses, labelling and environmental health. If you are a food business owner you will need to know about your responsibilities when producing and packaging food.
Department of Biodiversity, Conservatio and Attractions - Parks and Wildlife Service
The DBCA Parks and Wildlife Service has information on nature-based recreation and tourism, forest management, sustainability, environmental education, pollution prevention, management and protection.
On the website you can also find a useful tool called florabase to assist you with identifying native species for your area and their distribution.
Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage - Planning
The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage has statewide responsibility for the planning for future communities. Your local government authority (LGA) will work with DPLH to implement and review planning schemes. It is therefore important if you are planning on undertaking future development on your property to seek information from your LGA or DPLH office.
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is involved in measurement and allocation of the state's water resources. It sets the rules for the extraction of water, management of waterways and for water service providers. These roles are supported by legislation.
Landgate provides land information and geographic data relating to property details, maps, valuation and more.
Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC)
For information on workshops and advice on how to start, manage and build your business speak with the staff at the Small Business Development Corporation. Information on a wide variety of topics which you can find out about include marketing, planning and structures, employing people, exporting and importing, growing a business, money, tax and legal.
Rural Suppliers and Industry Associations
Local Rural Suppliers
These are your local agricultural agencies and they offer a wide range of products and services. This is a good place to start for advice on equipment, machinery, financial services, insurance, farm services, merchandise, fertiliser, livestock and real estate.
For information relating to farm safety and children safety on the farm or for courses and services available visit the Farmsafe WA website. The website also provides useful tools for people to conduct their own safety needs analysis.
Australian Farmers’ Market Association
For smaller producers who are starting out and trying to find an avenue for selling your produce, farmers markets are a great place to showcase your product, do market research on what is in demand and what products you might be able to sell.
The website also has a useful links page which can provide connections to people involved in your chosen industry, industry training or information.
Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA)
The Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is an Australian government statutory authority which centralises the registration of all agricultural and veterinary chemical products into the Australian marketplace.
If you need to know if a chemical is registered for use in Australia you can search the APVMA website. Chemical which are not registered in Australia are not legally allowed to be used.
Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI)
AWI provides wool producers a wide variety of information, products, tools and training opportunities to assist with getting the most out of their livestock. Some of the useful tools which are provided free online are making more from sheep, tutorials on how to do worm egg counts, advice for treating lice and much more.
AWI also has links to WormBoss, which offers news and information update on effective worm management.
FarmStyle is an online community for small and hobby farmers to learn everything about farming and country living. The website has information on buying and managing your small property, running your small business and selling your produce.
FarmDiversity.com.au is the first step in exploring something new for your farm. This initiative of the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation allows you to search crop and animal production enterprise alternatives by type or location to discover which may be best suited to your farm.
Horses, land and water provide a variety of resources which are designed to aid landholders to manage their desire to run horses without causing environmental, social or health issues. There is an action planner, whole property, paddock and intensive horse keeping management guidelines.
Kondinin Group provides a wide variety of research, news and information products to assist landholders with managing their property more effectively and efficiently. They also produce a monthly magazine with the latest information and research, if you would like to access all areas you will need to subscribe.
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA)
MLA provides research, development and marketing services to the Australian red meat industry. There is information on markets, stocking rates, food safety, events, publications and useful calculators.
The MLA website also provides cattle, sheep and goat livestock owner’s information about the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS), National Vendor Declaration (NVD) and Livestock Producer Assurance (LPA) program.
National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA)
For people who are interested in finding out more information on how to become a certified organic producer, NASAA has useful resources, templates and forms, information and publications.
NASAA also runs events on a wide variety of topics to assist produces with sustainable outputs. There is a useful links page which provides information on a variety of organisations which is useful for organic producers.
Organic Association of Western Australia
The Organic Association of Western Australia website has some useful general information on growing organics and certification process. There is also a useful link to commercial members which provides links to retail outlets, producers and input suppliers.
The Association also has a number of active regional meetings running which provide people with the opportunity to learn new skills or improve their existing ones.
The Southern Forests Food Council, taking in the towns of Manjimup, Pemberton, Walpole and Northcliffe, plays a critical role in unifying the area's diverse producers to strengthen economic performance, attract further investment, create jobs, promote regional pride and ultimately achieve recognition as a highly regarded culinary tourism destination.
VegetablesWA has a variety of useful information relating to irrigation, good practice, nutrition, research and development relating to vegetable production. They also produce a useful publication called WA Growers.
Catchment Councils and other contacts
Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC)
Nothern Agricultural Catchments Council is a representative group of the catchments in the Northern Agricultural Region (NAR) which include the: Murchison, Hutt, Bowes, Chapman, Greenough, Irwin, Hill and Moore. NACC has been working on ground with local farmers, governments, communities and groups to develop and deliver NRM projects.
South Coast Natural Resource Management (SCNRM)
South Coast NRM coordinates and administers funding for natural resource management. There is a variety useful publications, reference and reports relating to NRM issues and practices on the south coast available to landholder wanting to know more about better NRM practices. South Coast NRM also run events and training to improve landholders skills, as well as funding opportunities for on-ground works.
South West Catchments Council (SWCC)
South West Catchments Council (SWCC) provides information, advice, events and funding relating to natural resource management (NRM) in six sub-regions across the south west of Western Australia. If your property is in the Peel-Harvey, Geographe, Cape to Cape, Blackwood, Leschenault or Warren subregion you maybe able to access funding or support.
Local Garden Centres
Your local garden centre or nursery can help you with plant identification, weed control, fertilising and deciding which plants will best suit your needs.
Small Farms Magazine and Bookshop
If you are looking for books relating to agricultural production the Small Farms Magazine and Bookshop have a wide range of publications relating to conventional farming, livestock, organics, horticulture, farm management and much more.
The Small Farms magazine comes out monthly with seasonal information and advice, along with useful information on property management and what is happening around the place for small landholders.