Even though the issue of rail freight is not as urgent for the Esperance region as it is for central Wheatbelt regions, Mr Norton said increasing road maintenance costs would affect all farmers.

“Getting grain onto rail is a big issue and there is a knock-on effect for all growers,” Mr Norton said.

“There has been very little capital expenditure on rail for a long period of time and it is cheaper to fix rail than roads.”

Mr Norton was in town to attend the Esperance Ravensthorpe zone’s annual general meeting recently.

He said farmers were looking at tight budgets going into 2010 on the back of an average season last year and with input costs increasing.

Zone president Glenn Mitchell, who was re-elected at the AGM, said a range of issues, including the recent GM canola decision and the controversial new harvest ban system, were raised at the meeting.

He said WA Farmers had a policy to support the lifting of the GM moratorium, a move that was supported by about 60 per cent of the local membership.

Mr Mitchell said the decision to introduce the catastrophic warning, covering swathes of shires during the summer had frustrated farmers during harvest and local volunteer fire chiefs.

“The first time the catastrophic warning was issued it was put on from midnight to midnight,” he said.

“By 5am the next day it was almost raining,”

He said the shire system was more flexible and realistic, responding much faster to local conditions.

“They can lift bans zone by zone as cool changes come across and it’s just far more flexible and more appropriate to the local area because things can change,” he said.

“Unfortunately some other shires don’t impose harvest bans so that’s why FESA has come in from Perth.

“Esperance has a very good system and some pretty dedicated volunteer fire officers across the region and we want to support them and get them to continue our existing system.”

The office bearers for the zone for 2010 are: President Glenn Mitchell, vice president Tom Walker, grains council delegate Mic Fels, grains proxy Glenn Mitchell, wool council delegate Ian Hesford, wool proxy Ken Norman, meat council delegate John Wallace, meat proxy Ian McCallum.

Executive committee Marg Agnew, port consultative committee Colin DeGrussa and John Richardson, Esperance Regional Forum Yvonne Hallam and Catherine Field, general section delegates Glenn Mitchell and Tom Walker.