Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Peter Hayman. As Principal Scientist, Climate Applications, at the South Australian Research and Development Institute of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions , Peter works to identify climate risks to agriculture and develop R&D partnerships to help. From growing up in Japan, to studying ag science in Sydney, Peter's career path is an interesting one that has seen him seek to make science useful at the centre. GRDC in Conv...
Nov 13, 2022•59 min
GRDC continues to support grains focussed innovators to develop and bring their technology to growers. One way of doing that is by partnering with accelerators like the ‘Agtech and Logistics Hub’, which has recently launched a program designed to fast track innovation in the agri-food sector. The program is called GroundUp and we spoke to Agtech and Logistics Hub director, Thomas Hall to find out how it all works and how growers will ultimately benefit. Contact: thomas.hall@agrifoodconnect.com.a...
Nov 08, 2022•12 min
Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Mark Merrett. Mark is a sixth-generation farmer from Kaniva in western Victoria where his family runs a mixed operation of winter cropping and sheep. Mark always wanted to become a farmer but he's also a natural communicator. His Merrett Contracting YouTube videos have been viewed thousands of times and they're helping to connect people from around the world with farm life. GRDC in Conversation is a limited series of the GRDC Podcast. It f...
Nov 06, 2022•28 min
More information: Australia is the world's largest exporter of faba beans, to help growers stay on top, breeders are developing new varieties suited to local conditions. Harnessing the expertise of different partners, GRDC has invested in research to address faba bean diseases including Ascochyta blight while maintaining a focus on higher yields. In this podcast, Adelaide University faba bean breeder Sam Catt and SARDI pulse pathologist Sara Blake talk about progress towards new and improved var...
Nov 01, 2022•10 min
Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Kate Burke. Kate’s working career has seen her in roles as an agronomist, a commercial manager, author and a cereal chemist. Living in Echuca, Victoria, she now runs her own consulting business Think Agri, providing corporate investors access to astute, experience-based advice when considering agri-investment decisions. GRDC in Conversation is a limited series of the GRDC Podcast. It features in depth, long-form interviews with growers and...
Oct 30, 2022•49 min•Ep. 2
After a wet 2021, growers across Australia’s northern and southern grain growing regions are again bracing for widespread, heavy rainfalls at harvest this year. While the weather forecast poses significant challenges for getting crops off the paddock, getting your silos ready to store damp grain now is one way to help reduce headaches down the track. In this podcast, GRDC National, Grain Storage Extension Project Coordinator, Chris Warrick, shares his tips on preparing silos for harvest, storing...
Oct 25, 2022•10 min
GRDC in Conversation is a limited series of the GRDC Podcast. It features in depth, long-form interviews with growers and other experts in the grains industry. It aims to help growers explore research outcomes and ideas through a different perspective. Barry's 45-year career has seen him combine his on-farm experience with his business acumen to help farm businesses build resilience in risky environments. His work has taken him from his family farm in Port Germein, SA, to working to support the ...
Oct 24, 2022•46 min
For the first time in WA, there’s been a confirmed case of glyphosate and paraquat resistance in annual ryegrass. The discovery has prompted University of Western Australia weed researcher, Dr Roberto Busi, to research alternative double knock solutions. As Roberto explains, the findings have been a quantum leap forward in understanding how these resistant ryegrass populations can be effectively controlled with paraquat and pre-emergent herbicide combinations. Contact Dr Roberto Busi roberto.bus...
Oct 18, 2022•16 min
Wheat growers in the northern grain growing region are currently experiencing one of the worst stripe rust epidemics in recent memory. To help growers tackle the challenging season, Grain Orana Alliance (GOA) have been conducting trials to provide a stripe rust early warning system for the central north region of the New South Wales cropping belt. The trials, supported by GRDC, are focused on identifying and communicating local dominant stripe rust pathogens to help growers and advisers make man...
Oct 11, 2022•14 min
Lupin seed integrity and establishment With split seed resulting in yield penalties higher than 70% in some areas, a new GRDC investment is looking at how growers can manage their handling of lupin seed to ensure better germination of seed in the following seasons. A benchmark study of 27 WA growers looked at germination impacts for lupins, focusing on reducing the incidence of split seed through harvest activities such as machinery impacts, and manganese deficiency. The study which started in 2...
Oct 04, 2022•9 min
GRDC has a history of working with different business accelerators to deliver grains focussed, start-up accelerator programs across Australia. Farmers2Founders is one such programme - set up to help put producers at the centre of innovation by supporting them to have more involvement in the innovation process… leading to solutions that will solve real problems for grains growers on farm. To find out more, we spoke to Skye Raward, co-founder and general manager of Farmers to Founders and Tegan Mo...
Sep 27, 2022•16 min
Gravel soils account for 24 per cent of land used for crop production in southern Western Australia, and are also characteristic of major production regions in South Australia and Victoria. In this podcast, two growers share their experience managing this challenging soil type. They have distinctly different approaches but share a desire to get the most of their crops in a high rainfall environment. Murdoch University’s Dr Francesca Brailsford also shares an update on the significant GRDC invest...
Sep 20, 2022•20 min
The National Grower Network is a GRDC initiative set up to directly communicate with growers and help progress locally relevant research, development and extension investments. Growers are encouraged to become involved and there are many ways to do that. To find out more about the National Grower Network, we speak to Grower Relations Manager, Vicki Green and Graham Spackman who is on the GRDC’s northern panel. Contacts: Vicki Green Grower Relations Manager Vicki.Green@grdc.com.au Graham Spackman...
Sep 13, 2022•13 min
Grain growers around Australia have a new tool, in the form of a comprehensive guide, to support informed decision making around machinery purchases. The guide, titled “Machinery investment and replacement for Australian grain growers”, is the result of a two-year GRDC initiated project to assist growers to evaluate decisions around machinery investment. The information has been gathered from contributions from more than 450 grain growers around Australia, who shared their machinery purchase and...
Sep 07, 2022•12 min
For the first time in Australia, there is a biocontrol option to help tackle flaxleaf fleabane. A rust fungus from fleabane’s country of origin, Colombia, has been rigorously tested by a research team at the CSIRO and approved for release by the Australian regulator. This new tool will be available to help growers bolster their integrated weed management strategy. This research is part of a project called Underpinning agricultural productivity and biosecurity by weed biological control, led by A...
Aug 31, 2022•16 min
How much does the general public trust the grains industry? Recent community survey work, made possible through GRDC investment, has painted a clear picture – and the results are surprising. Dr Kieren Moffat and his team have been surveying a diverse cross-section of the community to examine areas of uncertainty such as chemical usage and GMO cropping. It’s all part of a the larger Community Trust in Rural Industries project being driven by a number of Rural Research and Development Corporations...
Aug 23, 2022•13 min•Season 1Ep. 273
Weeds are one of the largest costs to Australian growers - affecting management, yields and input costs. That’s why GRDC is a platinum partner in WeedSmart - an industry led initiative designed to deliver weed control solutions. WeedSmart is the united industry voice delivering science backed weed control solutions to growers and advisors for long term productivity in Australian agriculture. To see the full list of financial, in-kind and international in-kind; and research partners visit this pa...
Aug 17, 2022•15 min•Season 1Ep. 272
Australia’s canola industry continues to grow from strength to strength - despite the presence of blackleg, a common disease that has the potential to cause more than 90 per cent yield loss. This success story is thanks, in part, to decades of targeted GRDC investment into blackleg management – delivering significant genetic and agronomic advancements to help canola growers reduce the impact of this serious pathogen. Marcroft Grains Pathology Principal Dr Steve Marcroft has been at the forefront...
Aug 10, 2022•11 min•Season 1Ep. 271
One of the greatest barriers to improving farm productivity in Australia is water. Over the past ten years, GRDC investment in water use efficiency (WUE) research has resulted in significant yield gains and underpinned an evolution in the management of summer fallows and farming sequences across Australia’s southern and western cropping regions. Southern NSW agronomist Greg Condon has been involved with WUE research projects for more than 12 years, and in this podcast he delves into the research...
Aug 03, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 270
Excessive rainfall has hit northern growers over the past six months. With water logging across paddocks, growers are at heightened risk of losing nitrogen from denitrification, and it’s an issue GRDC is keen to understand better. Recent research supported by GRDC and led by Senior Research scientist at the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Dr Graeme Schwenke, found that on average, paddocks with waterlogging could lose 28 per cent of nitrogen from denitrification. To get the com...
Jul 20, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 269
Long coleoptile wheat is getting a lot of grower interest and some new research been delivering some exciting results. This genetic approach is focused on wheat lines that produce a long first shoot, or a coleoptile, allowing for deeper sowing into soil with residual moisture. After successful paddock-scale trials, the research is helping growers mitigate the risk of poor or failed establishment because of unpredictable summer rain and sowing breaks. Led by CSIRO plant geneticist, Dr. Greg Rebet...
Jul 13, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 268
When it comes to maximising the productivity of irrigated crops, research is proving it isn’t as simple as adding water and lots of nitrogen fertiliser. The Optimising Irrigated Grains project team have two seasons of impressive agronomy data under their belt –helped along by back-to-back mild spring conditions which has seen them achieve some pretty exceptional yields Contact Nick Poole Managing Director FAR Australia Nick.Poole@faraustralia.com.au More information - Optimising irrigated grains...
Jul 05, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 267
A 90-day summer chickpea crop could soon be a reality for the north, giving growers a pulse option to plant in February and harvest in June. Researchers involved in the summer chickpea project, made possible through GRDC investment, have spent the summer assessing the performance of 20 chickpea lines across five different locations. As project lead Dr Angela Pattison from the University of Sydney explains, the trial results and yield potential of the system are showing real promise. Contact Dr A...
Jun 29, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 266
What does it take to optimise mungbean yields in Australia’s northern growing region? It's the focus of a significant GRDC investment underway with Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. In this podcast, project participant Paul McIntosh from Pulse Australia shares the latest agronomy research findings on maximising productivity in mungbean systems. Contact Paul McIntosh Pulse Australia industry development manager paul@pulseaus.com.au More information · Mungbean agronomy video · Mu...
Jun 22, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 265
Fusarium wilt is significant mungbean disease that can result in up to 80 per cent yield loss. In an effort to arm growers with information about this costly disease, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in Queensland has set up a variety of tolerance trials across the state as part of a wider GRDC and DAF co-investment on optimising mungbean yield in the northern region. In this podcast, DAF Extension Officer, Jayne Gentry, shares the latest research findings and her recommendation...
Jun 15, 2022•9 min•Season 1Ep. 264
The National Oat Breeding Program, backed by joint $5.4 million investment from AgriFutures Australia and GRDC, is being propelled into a new era under the leadership of commercial breeding company, InterGrain. In this podcast, Intergrain’s Dr Allan Rattey shares all the details of the new program and how it will increase the genetic gain per dollar invested. The program is strengthened by significant collaboration with oat pre-breeding investments across Australia. This national research networ...
Jun 08, 2022•10 min•Season 1Ep. 263
Most irrigated crop research involves wheat or cotton - but the Optimising Irrigated Grains project is different. It’s focused on the agronomic and amelioration levers for maize, chickpeas, faba beans, canola, barley and durum. The three-year irrigation project has delivered some impressive results so far. Contact Ben Morris FAR Australia Ben.Morris@faraustralia.com.au More information · Optimising irrigated grains video · Optimising irrigated grains research report · WaterCan Profit calculator ...
May 31, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 262
Vetch got a bad rap back in the 1990s when a variety that looked like red lentils was substituted for the higher priced commodity and sold into export markets. Since then, this versatile crop has gone from strength to strength, thanks largely to the National Vetch Breeding Program. In this podcast, program leader Stuart Nagel explores the history of vetch and its adaptability in cropping and mixed farming systems. The breeding program has been trialling and releasing new varieties suited to Aust...
May 25, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 261
As many southern growers know, good growing conditions for crops also means good ground conditions for slugs. After favourable springs in both 2020 and 2021, slug populations are on the rise and sliding into regions that don’t normally see them. As Dr Michael Nash explains, it’s about being proactive, understanding the risk factors and making informed management choices for the different species. Contact Dr Michael Nash whatbugsyou@gmail.com Ruth Peek ruth.peek@grdc.com.au Learn more about your ...
May 17, 2022•13 min•Season 1Ep. 260
Dual-purpose crops under irrigation offer an attractive graze and grain return. But what's the best set-up to maximise potential at the paddock level? In this GRDC podcast, we hear from three growers who put forward paddocks in an ambitious effort to answer just that, as part of the Optimising Irrigated Grains investment. Contact Kate Coffey Riverine Plains kate@riverineplains.org.au More information · Optimising irrigated grains video · Optimising irrigated grains research report Learn more abo...
May 11, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 259
