Countryman hears from five farmers who have tossed their hats in the ring for the 2026 CBH board elections

Five farmers are throwing their hats into the ring for two hotly contested CBH Group board positions to contribute to the direction of the State’s grain handling giant. Among the candidates is former CBH board chair and Newdegate farmer Wally Newman, who stepped down from the position in 2020 but put his hand up for re-election this year after rumours of a potential takeover of CBH by corporates. Three positions — of three years each — were available in CBH’s districts one, two, and four. Incumbent Mick Caughey was re-elected unopposed to district two. All candidates this year told Countryman they were ardent supporters of the co-operative model — a topical question raised in the wake of talk of logistics giant Qube’s bid to takeover the grain handler. The CBH board comprises nine member directors and up to three independent directors elected from five grower director districts. Two directors are elected by members from districts one, two, three, and four, and one director is elected by members from district five. DISTRICT ONE Miling farmer Ken Seymour is seeking a third term on the CBH board in district one, facing a challenge from Kalannie farmer Bob Nixon. Campaigning for re-election, Mr Seymour said he was committed to continuing the co-operative’s strategy to expand storage capacity to accommodate WA’s growing annual grain tonnage. “I would like to continue to review costs and controls to ensure CBH charges remain competitive,” he said. “I support the need to continue to improve transport efficiencies arrangements for grain from paddock to port. “I believe CBH needs to continue to work with government to improve rail transport efficiencies and limit freight cost increase and to develop innovations at the ports to increase efficiency of out-loading.” Mr Nixon pledged to bring passion and dedication to the board if elected, as well as strong oversight and accountability to ensure dollars spent matched grower needs. “As a grower, I understand the role post-farmgate costs have on profitability, and bring the communication skills needed to represent growers to focus on CBH’s core purpose of efficient competitive grain handling,” he said. Farming with his wife Amanda, son Sam, his family, and casual and full-time staff, Mr Nixon said he was passionate about agronomy, soil health, and maintaining the vibrancy of WA’s small communities. DISTRICT TWO District two director and third-generation Nungarin farmer Mick Caughey has been re-elected unopposed. He put his hand up for the board position, keen to give a second term a go, and was surprised when the district received no other candidates despite it often being a well-contested area. Mr Caughey crops about 5000ha annually in Nungarin with his wife and three adult children. Facing down a set of challenges to the WA grain industry, Mr Caughey is determined to continue to implement the co-operative’s 2033 strategy to increase capacity for the State’s continually growing annual crop. “The crop’s getting bigger and bigger each year, so it’s going to be a challenge,” he said. “The crop keeps coming quicker and quicker, and areas like Albany are expanding rapidly, and Geraldton — and (it has been) another good year. “It’s the challenge of getting the right builds in the right place at the right time.” Mr Caughey believes WA is handling the annual crop quite well, and said the ports would be under the pump if harvests continued to break records. “The big crop now . . . our ports are under the pump, so we’ve got to start spending some capital on our ports to get that infrastructure up to scratch so we can get the grain out as fast as we possibly can,” he said. DISTRICT FOUR Incumbent director and Lake Grace farmer Royce Taylor is up against Mr Newman, a former board chair, and well-known Wagin farmer Clayton South. Mr Newman is the only farmer to nominate in the elections outside CBH Group’s recommended Candidate Assessment Panel, which was implemented in 2021 to assess candidates for the “skills and attributes sought by the CBH board”. He said he was motivated to return to the grain handler as a director as a result of “unfinished structural changes” and calls from fellow farmers suggesting that he run again. “Where there is smoke there is fire,” he said. “The recent discussion about CBH potentially being the subject of a takeover got me thinking . . . and got other growers thinking. “There are less and less growers, and the structure needs to be fine-tuned a bit more.” Mr Taylor, a born-and-bred second-generation Lake Grace farmer, is gunning for a third term on the board in the hopes of continuing stability, bringing prior experience as a director. He hopes a third term will allow him to continue pursuing investment in the co-operative’s ability to receive the growing crop each harvest. “Since I have been on the board, CBH has invested an average of $453 million in the network each year, totalling $2,265m for the five years,” he said. “The investment has been needed to receive the ever-increasing crop size. “The pace of harvest has increased, with growers investing in larger machinery, therefore the co-op has had to increase its receival capacity.” July will mark four years of service on the CBH Growers Advisory Council for Mr South, who has set his sights on securing a director position for district four. He said his time on the GAC piqued his interest in a role as a CBH director, and board contribution. With an open mind and long-term mindset, Mr South hopes to further his contribution to the WA grains sector by serving on the CBH board and supporting the State’s farmers. “My main goal is to ensure the future growers of WA have a strong and efficient co-operative to help them get their grain to customers all around the world,” he said. “With over 90 per cent of our grain exported, it’s crucial to help keep our growers profitable so they can stay in and contribute to the rural communities that they love to belong to.” The WA Electoral Commission will email members when voting opens on January 12 providing the link to the online voting portal, while ballot packs containing full voting information will be mailed to members in districts one and four that same day. Votes are due at the close of polling at 10am on February 23, with results to be announced later that day. Pick up a copy of the January 22 edition of the Countryman to read question and answer profiles on each candidate.