US wheat and corn futures responded immediately to the news yesterday that Russia had invaded Ukraine, with prices rising to their daily trading limits. As the market opened this morning, the prices soared again, but if and when those prices will flow onto the Australian market is yet to be seen and will probably depend on the length and severity of the conflict. Russia is the world's largest supplier of wheat and together with Ukraine accounts for nearly a quarter of total global wheat exports. So any conflict in this part of the world has significant consequences for the market.

There are growing concerns Russia will use its huge energy trade with Europe as an economic weapon in the war against Ukraine.

A new state record price has been paid for a Black Angus bull, selling for $72, 000. The bull was bred by the Coonamble Stud at Bremer Bay, on the state's south coast, about 180 kilometres north east of Albany. Noel Bairstow, a farmer from Lake Grace, is the new owner of the bull named Coonamble Frontman.

The state's main grain handler is calling on its grower members to help cart more grain to port to meet the current strong export demand for WA grains. The CBH Group says with tight transport resources in WA the co-op needs that fleet of farmer trucks on the road to help get the job done.

It's been more than ten months since Cyclone Seroja hit Western Australia's Mid West. There was lots of damage to farms and the clean up continues. But as farmers start to look at replacing damaged houses, sheds and other infrastructure, some are starting to find they're suddenly under insured. That's largely because the building cost, for labour and materials, has increased significantly in the last 12 to 18 months. Mullewa farmer Rob Kitto had six large grain silos damaged in the cyclone, but his insurance pay-out will only cover the cost of replacing two.

The warning signs have been around for a few weeks and today in the Perth metro area the price of fuel hit the two dollars a litre mark and it's hovering around that mark right across the state.

Veterinarians are continuing to assess livestock caught up in the bushfires that tore through several wheatbelt shires earlier this month. The latest figures from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development reveal livestock losses in the Narrogin/Wickepin area are now at 2, 200, Corrigin/Bruce Rock's tally is 1, 000 and in the south west Bridgetown has recorded 38 and Denmark 32.

Head of the livestock export shipping company Wellard says the current eyewatering prices for cattle, like feeder steer prices out of Darwin for $5.50 per kilogram, can't last forever. He thinks it could be as early as 2023 when those prices are starting at the two dollar mark, rather than the five dollar per kilo mark, as they are now. Wellard has just posted a US$500, 000 half year profit result, back in the black after a $1.6 million loss in the previous year's reporting period. Wellard says the result was driven by excellent vessel availability and utilisation, which helped offset falling cattle export numbers and rising fuel prices.

At its AGM on Friday the state's main grain handler acknowledged its biggest challenge for 2022 is exporting the recent record crop of 21 million tonnes. The CBH Group says WA grain is in high demand, but shipping capacity at its four port terminals is fully booked and the pressure is on to unlock every opportunity to increase transport and get more tonnes to port to meet market demand.

There's been confusion in Canberra about the number of foreign workers likely to be recruited on Australia's new agriculture visa.

Catch limits of iconic Western Australian fish, such as groper, pink snapper and dhufish would be halved under a new management proposal designed to stop an unsustainable decline in fish stocks.

The WAFarmers grain section president is calling on the CBH Group to improve freight train visibility and make railway crossings safer for motorists on country roads.

A market so uncertain, not even the traders are confident, that's the outlook for fertiliser from one the largest commodities trading companies in the world.

One of the other increasing expenses for farmers is wages. Stephen Smith is an economist with Deloitte and a guest speaker at this week's GRDC farm business updates. He says it will take up to three years before migration returns to pre pandemic levels and that means to secure a work force you're going to have to pay more.

The WA Government has appointed six members to its new Animal Welfare Advisory Committee. The panel was formed to give advice to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development on animal welfare matters. Among the appointees is the CEO of the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association Michael Sheehy and Joanna Williams who is on the board of the WA Meat Industry Authority. But WAFarmers president John Hassell says the appointment of representatives with affiliations to organisations like Animals' Angels Australia is concerning for agriculture.

Agriculture minister, Alannah MacTiernan, has confirmed DPIRD, WA Health and WA Police are working together to find a solution to allow muster workers to enter through Kununurra, and head straight to cattle stations to complete their quarantine.

Australian Wool Innovation says the shearer shortage is the number one concern for the wool industry and it's looking to support innovations that make it easier to get wool off the sheep's back.

A return to the office is expected to push up the price of wool this calendar year, according to Rabobank.

The Wagin Woolorama set to go ahead as planned despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Western Australia.

The Australian sheep flock is set for a growth spurt this year with the latest projections from Meat and Livestock Australia showing the flock will grow by almost five per cent to 74.4 million head in 2022, the highest level since 2013.

There are calls to change the way fly-in fly-out workers on remote mine sites are managed if they become close contacts of COVID-19 cases.

AusVeg's Tyson Cattle says farmers are not expecting an instant workforce to come from backpackers. He'd like to see more effort going into establishing a stable workforce through an agricultural visa.

With strong prices and demand, confidence in WA's mining industry is at a high and recent analysis has found investment in mineral exploration has broken records.

A potential conflict between Russia and Ukraine is causing volatility in the grain and oilseeds market with wheat prices up by $15 a tonne on Friday as speculation of a Russian invasion intensifies.

India has announced that tariffs on lentil imports will be cut from 11 per cent to zero effective immediately.