As 2026 gets underway, its shaping to be a year of change building off the momentum of increased confidence and price signals particularly in the last half of 2025. Ongoing discussions are focused on the direction we want the industry to head in the medium to long term.
Beyond The Shed Program Launch (WASIA)
The WA Shearing Industry Association’s 2026 General Meeting took place on January 17, which saw a great turnout for the launch of the Beyond the Shed program.
The Beyond the Shed program is now open to contracting businesses. To participate, contracting businesses must register and be a WASIA member.
For further information and to register, please visit the program website at: www.beyondtheshed.com.au.
Grant Program Updates and Round 2 Opportunities
There are three grants currently being assessed. They are:
- Supply Chain Capacity run by the WA government
Outcomes for Round 1 of the Supply Chain Capacity Program, designed to assist producers and processors fund capital works, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Applications for Round 2 of the program are expected to open shortly afterwards.
- Farm Business Transition run by the Commonwealth
- Livestock Transport Industry Transition run by the Commonwealth
Grant application assessments are underway for Round 1 of the Farm Business Transition Program and the Livestock Transport Industry Transition Program and are expected to be announced in Q1 2026.
Applications for Round 2 of the Farm Business Transition Program are expected to open mid-2026. For updates and further information, monitor your email inbox and the Transition Assistance webpage at agriculture.gov.au/2028.
Enhancing Market Demand Program Outcomes
The outcomes of the Enhancing Market Demand Grants Program have been announced, with the full list of recipients available on the Transition Assistance page.
Strategic Steering Group and WA Roadmap to 2028 - Get Involved!
Work on the WA Roadmap is well underway.
A dedicated ‘Have Your Say’ page has been created to give everyone the opportunity to share their feedback on the priorities for the WA sheep industry, either through an online questionnaire or by submitting a written response.
If you are interested in providing input visit: https://www.thefutureflock.com.au/wa-roadmap-to-2028.
The WA Roadmap is being guided by The Strategic Steering Group who commissioned a report late last year to use best available data to establish the current state of the WA sheep industry. The report is now available on the WA Roadmap website: https://www.thefutureflock.com.au/wa-roadmap-to-2028
The WA Roadmap facilitators, Cath Botta and Andrew Huffer, having been working hard to make sure that the Roadmap reflects what industry wants.
Cath and Andrew worked with the Strategic Steering Group to consult with the sector by conducting a series of workshops and focus group interviews to further refine the Roadmap work to date.
Cath and Andrew bring extensive facilitation, engagement and analysis experience from across the agricultural sector to the table and have assisted to develop a practical and future focused plan that can guide investment choices until 2028 and beyond.
The Future Flock
Development of the national plan called ‘The Future Flock’ has started alongside the WA Roadmap. The inaugural meeting of The Future Flock National Advisory Panel took place in Sydney in late 2025.
This year, Sheep Producers Australia (SPA) will continue to develop the national plan with the Advisory Panel meeting regularly
MUSTER Program (Grower Group Alliance)
Grower Group Alliance’s (GGA) MUSTER program to expand extension of best practice on farm management, will continue its co-design process with stakeholder groups to determine what producers need to help grow the sector in research, development, extension and adoption (RDEA).
If you are a researcher or industry expert with specific experience in Research, Development, Extension and Adoption within the sheep and wool sectors, consider contributing to the design of MUSTER by completing the co-design form on the MUSTER website at: MUSTER Program - Grower Group Alliance.
