Whatever ingredient preserves the rural resolve to endure the vagaries of markets, bureaucracy, rising input costs and the weather needs bottling and sold to the rest of Australia. I believe the Nation can do with a dose of this elixir.

Without a doubt the difficult seasonal conditions facing most across Regional WA is a disaster in timing coming on the back of the poor finish last season. Keeping the faith is going to be difficult but there is one bright light on the horizon that needs not to be lost in the current gloom.

The Oil Mallee Project represents all the earnest endeavour to bring a “New” Agriculture to Regional Australia. An agricultural tree crop that integrates well, compliments your farming systems, deals with waterlogging and other environmental limitations, offers a diversified income base to your farm income base, has huge carbon trading potential and regional employment opportunities.

Too good to be true? Each and every one will need to come to their own conclusions on where their commitment to the Project lies. Fortunately there is enough momentum and emerging insight to signal A VERY BIG FUTURE for the humble mallee.

Pick up the paper and read about the change. Growing concerns about greenhouse, broader community awareness to salinity and the rural environment, a National renewable energy trading scheme, emerging environmental management systems - a QA for farmers to meet the market demand for sustainable produce.

It all signals the need to evolve agriculture. The community is the ‘market’ and the market is where agricultural endeavour either turns to dollars or dust. It is difficult to read the market but not too difficult to read the signals for a cleaner environment, responsible management of natural resources and cleaner produce.

Agriculture then has a choice. Either evolve under self-discipline or be told how to change. I personally favour the former option.

I, like many others, believe the mallee project is well founded, has after a very hard slog got many exciting projects like IWP on the books and is poised to reward all that prior endeavour. It is not without ongoing challenges, but with your continued support we will produce a ‘green’ product that will have enormous market demand and reward.

Too good to be true? – I think not.