WAFarmers president, Mike Norton, said the meeting was convened to help farmers and local industry members understand from where the cost pressures were coming in an effort to find a solution.

He said the meeting was necessary to analyse how high the costs could go and for how long they would be sustained.

Some of the solutions offered during the workshop were technology-driven methods for reducing crop waste, such as global positioning systems, and detailed soil analysis of paddocks level.

There could also be a revision of crop rotation programs to consider the value of natural nitrogen production, it was suggested.

Mr Norton said the meeting was held because WAFarmers had been getting an unusually high number of phone calls recently from growers "seriously concerned" about the rising costs of inputs.

That concern was propelled by grave fears over the high cost of planting next year's crop, he said.

That fear escalated again last week, as grain prices declined on the back of more positive harvest reports for wheat and corn crops in the US.

Mr Norton said "huge" fertiliser costs were forcing some farmers to the brink of financial ruin while other inputs such as chemical and fuel were adding to the financial pressure.

"Some fertiliser costs have increased by $1000 a tonne, diesel prices have swelled, and key chemicals such as Glyphosate have risen from $80 to $240 per 20-litre drum in just 18 months," Mr Norton said.

He said he was also concerned that local fertiliser companies were looking to take money off farmers for next year's crop when this year's plants had not been harvested.

Representative of about 35 industry goups were at the meeting including those from WAFarmers, the Pastoralists and Graziers Association (PGA), farm consultants and Agriculture Department senior staff, including director-general Ian Longson, and executive director of industry and rural services, Roger O'Dwyer.

"We need to get our head around the extent of this issue," Mr Norton said.

"How long is it going to go on for and how high can these costs go?

"There are many questions that need to be asked and that is essentially why we met."