EFOM Session: Getting Ready for Harvest
Getting Ready for Harvest — final EFOM session for 2026
EFOM’s final session for 2026 will be held on Tuesday 8 September from 9.30 am–1.30 pm at the Esperance Civic Centre, with a practical program focused on getting farm businesses ready for harvest from the people, safety and farm-office side.
Farm safety without the overwhelm
Stephen (Steve) Filetti and Lorraine Filetti from RuralWise will work through a practical approach to farm safety and the systems that sit behind it, including the important role the farm office can play in keeping safety information, processes and records organised and usable.
What happens when WorkSafe visits the farm?
Grass Patch grower John Sanderson and Condingup grower Kris Perks will share their experiences and practical observations from WorkSafe educational audits earlier this year — including what was looked at and what they learnt from the process.
Harvest safety: training people for the job
Troy Smith from Real Skills Ag Training will look at practical ways to build safety into machinery and operator training, including how short training videos can help farm businesses provide clear, consistent instructions and reinforce safe work practices.
Visa delays affecting skilled casual staff for harvest
Esperance grain grower Mic Fels will open a discussion on the challenges farm businesses are facing this year in securing skilled seasonal staff, including delays being experienced with visa processing.
The morning will also include a Q&A with speakers, bringing together the themes of practical farm safety, WorkSafe preparedness, staff training and getting people and systems ready for harvest.
Before lunch, EFOM will run a short Mentimeter poll to hear what participants have found useful in the 2026 program and what farm-office topics and sessions they would like to see in 2027.
The session will finish with a light lunch and informal discussion about harvest meals, hosted by Sally Taylor and Hayley Wandel. It’s an opportunity to share what works in your farm business, hear what others are doing and swap ideas for keeping everyone fed through harvest without making it an unnecessarily large job.
