Incorporating readily available organic-soil ameliorants to boost productivity of sandy soils, has been the focus of a three-year GRDC investment in the medium to high rainfall zones of Western Australia's Wheatbelt. The experiments, using organic ameliorates such as hay, stubble straw, and manure, monitored effects of amelioration on crop growth and yield with results varying across trial sites. The trials and investment are almost complete with data currently being collated for year three. We ...
Dec 19, 2023•13 min
A trial near Bolgart in WA is showcasing historic wheat varieties, allowing growers to look back in time to measure yield and genetic gains that wheat breeders have achieved over the past 50 years. The trial site features 48 varieties starting from the late 60s, up to the most recent varieties of two to three years ago, including bread wheat, Clearfield-tolerant wheat, and udon wheat varieties. The different varieties see improved grain size, disease resistance, weight, and crop height, bringing...
Dec 12, 2023•8 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with David Robb. David Anthony Robb is an Irrigation Advisor for Goanna Ag. He is also a grain producer, agricultural enthusiast, and UQ Agribusiness & Agricultural Science graduate. In this episode of GRDC In Conversation, David talks about life growing up on his family’s grain and cattle property west of Goondiwindi. David spent 14 years working on the farm before pursuing university and challenging himself to grow beyond the family b...
Dec 10, 2023•42 min
Gas-tight sealable silos are the preferred system of grain storage and like all on-farm machinery, they require an annual maintenance health check, including pressure testing the silo. How can we ensure our silo’s health and avoid problems such as weather damage, wear, corrosion, deterioration to inlet and outlet seals and leaks? In this episode, we hear from GRDC's Grain Storage Extension team members, Ben White and Alex Conway on a detailed rundown and timing for that all-important annual silo...
Dec 05, 2023•13 min
🎙 Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Paul McIntosh. Mention the name Paul McIntosh to anyone in the northern grains industry and it’s almost guaranteed to invoke a smile, a humorous quip or an anecdote about his seemingly-boundless agronomic knowledge. Mr McIntosh, or Macca as he’s better known to many, is one of the region’s most recognised and respected agronomists and has been a luminary in broadening the understanding, adoption and community recognition of best practic...
Dec 03, 2023•48 min
Phosphine fumigation is commonly used in gas-tight, sealed silos to control weevils in grain. While phosphine is dangerous, it can be used safely with responsible handling and management. In this episode, we chat with Grain Storage Extension Project lead Chris Warrick, along with Alex Conway about the significant safety around phosphine, including masks and meters, which remains the most relied upon fumigant to control stored grain pests in Australia’s grain production systems. Download the tran...
Nov 28, 2023•11 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Mark Swift. Mark Swift and his family farm 13 different cereal, oilseed, pulse and fibre crops across 4,000 hectares at Parkes, in Central West NSW. In this GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Mark discusses the family’s farming operation, the intellectual and physical challenges of farming, and the balance of technology, tradition, and innovation in agriculture. Download the transcript for this episode Please be advised t...
Nov 26, 2023•1 hr
The NVT program aims to assist Australian grain growers in varietal decision making by providing comparative information of commercially available grain varieties, including on yield performance, on disease resistance ratings and on grain quality. In this four-part series we will hear from a range of breeders – across seven crop types – and each one will provide information on newly commercialised cultivars in the NVT program that will be available to growers for the first time in the upcoming s...
Nov 23, 2023•14 min
From cone and flat-bottomed silos, to sheds, bunkers, bags, and pits, grain storage options today are seemingly endless. It is not always the case that the cheapest option will be the most cost effective over time. Nor will the most expensive always be the most appropriate for your needs. On top of this, there is the need to keep your grain free from moisture, condensation, mould, and insects, which an aeration system can do by maintaining lower temperatures and consistent conditions. So, when c...
Nov 21, 2023•12 min
Maree Crawford is a passionate contributor to the Australian agricultural industry with a focus on delivering solutions through research, technology and best practice. She is a Technical Services Manager with Elders, and Non-Executive Director at Tosari Crop Research Centre. In this episode, Maree discusses what it was like growing up with 10 brothers, her love of sports, career influences, and the importance of upskilling young people in agriculture. View the transcript for this episode . Learn...
Nov 19, 2023•38 min
The NVT program aims to assist Australian grain growers in varietal decision making by providing comparative information of commercially available grain varieties, including on yield performance, on disease resistance ratings and on grain quality. In this four-part series we will hear from a range of breeders – across seven crop types – and each one will provide information on newly commercialised cultivars in the NVT program that will be available to growers for the first time in the upcoming s...
Nov 16, 2023•6 min
With growers in the middle of harvest around the country, harvester fires are somewhat inevitable at this time of year. However, there are actions we can take to mitigate the risk. With lentil crops particularly susceptible to harvester fires, we spoke to Ben White from the Kondinin Group, as well as Adrian McCabe, a grower from South Australia, to find out why and what steps can be taken to reduce the chance of these incidents occurring. First up Ben explains the primary causes of harvester fir...
Nov 14, 2023•15 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Tim Neale. For more than 20 years, Tim Neale has been running his own businesses and managing research, development and extension projects for broad spectrum of clients across a variety of agricultural sectors. He's was recognised as the Australian rural consultant of the year in 2018 and he is the co-founder of Data Farming – an ag technology company which services more than 35,000 farms across 50 countries with satellite imagery and ...
Nov 12, 2023•39 min
The NVT program aims to assist Australian grain growers in varietal decision making by providing comparative information of commercially available grain varieties, including on yield performance, on disease resistance ratings and on grain quality. In this four-part series we will hear from a range of breeders – across seven crop types – and each one will provide information on newly commercialised cultivars in the NVT program that will be available to growers for the first time in the upcoming s...
Nov 09, 2023•17 min
The Australian Grains Genebank (AGG) is the centrepiece of grain crop genetic resources for the Australian grains industry. Since it's opening in 2014, it has been a partnership between the Victorian Government (Agriculture Victoria) and GRDC. An additional $30M will support digital innovation and connectivity to international genebanks, improve the operational function, and establish new long term seed storage, laboratories and work areas. Join the AGG leader Dr Sally Norton and plant pathologi...
Nov 07, 2023•18 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Roy Hamilton. Roy is a long-standing northern panel member who operates a 4400-ha mixed family farming enterprise near Rand in NSW’s Riverina with his wife Leanne and son Michael. In this episode, Roy speaks about the life experiences, influences and lessons that have shaped him into person he is today, and the advice he has for future generations of Australian grain growers. Download the transcript for this episode Learn more about yo...
Nov 05, 2023•47 min
The NVT program aims to assist Australian grain growers in varietal decision making by providing comparative information of commercially available grain varieties, including on yield performance, on disease resistance ratings and on grain quality. In this four-part series we will hear from a range of breeders – across seven crop types – and each one will provide information on newly commercialised cultivars in the NVT program that will be available to growers for the first time in the upcoming s...
Nov 02, 2023•20 min
Beneficial insects play an important role in providing natural pest suppression for growers in cereal crops across Australia. Until recently there was no scientifically proven guide to help growers monitor the impacts of commonly used insecticides on beneficial insects. Rosie Knapp, from Cesar Australia, explains the new resource for growers. Download the transcript for this episode Contact: Rosie Knapp Cesar Australia rknapp@cesaraustralia.com More Information: Cesar Australia – The Beneficials...
Oct 31, 2023•11 min
The Longmire’s farm at Beaumont, near Esperance in Western Australia, have been experimenting with variable rate technology for more than 20 years. As pros at using precision agriculture, Tom and Phil presented at workshops across WA earlier this year to share their experience implementing the technology on-farm. Tom joins us on this episode to tell us more. Download the transcript for this episode Contact: Tom Longmire Beaumont grower t.longmire@outlook.com More information: GroundCover article...
Oct 24, 2023•13 min
The Soil Quality ebook series, developed by SoilsWest with GRDC investment, draws upon a wealth of scientific published information, knowledge from dedicated soil science practitioners, industry perspectives and first-hand experience of growers. The 10th and final book in the series, covering the topic of plant nutrition, was released in October 2023 and the entire series is available to download for free from Apple Books. We sat down with Craig Scanlan from Western Australia’s Department of Pri...
Oct 17, 2023•9 min
The price of fertiliser has reached record highs over the past few seasons, so any option to reduce the amount of inputs being used on-farm, without impacting yield or productivity, can only be a good thing. With GRDC investment, the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia has been hosting a series of face-to-face workshops around the country to try and help growers do just that. To find out more, we speak to Bindi Isbister, a precision ag specialist from Agrarian Management in Western Austra...
Oct 10, 2023•14 min
The second tier of the Australian Grains Pest Innovation Program (AGPIP) looks at beneficial insects in Australian grain crops as an alternate pest control option. With the use of endosymbionts, the team at the University of Melbourne’s Pest and Environmental Adaptation Research Group (PEARG) are using new technology to help increase beneficial insect populations and supress plant virus transmission. Download the transcript for this episode Contact: Dr Josh Thia University of Melbourne PEARG jos...
Oct 03, 2023•10 min
Join Dr Arun Shanmugam and Dr Gary Rosewarne from Agriculture Victoria as they discuss the impact of GRDC’s investment on the Australian Lentil Industry since its establishment in the 1990’s. This podcast also looks at the increased scale in operations and infrastructure to deliver new varieties for growers and also how new GRDC investment is expanding lentil production as a national program, into new areas of Australia, including WA. Download the transcript for this episode Contact: Dr Arun S S...
Sep 26, 2023•14 min
Growers at the GRDC Grains Research Updates at Minyip in Victoria in July 2023 were told by Gerard McMullen from the National Working Party on Grain Protection that applying chemicals according to the label rate did not necessarily mean grain would meet export market requirements. Gerard joins us on this podcast to talk about changing MRLs, the chemical review being undertaken by the APVMA and why products such as carbendazim should never be used off label. Download the transcript for this episo...
Sep 19, 2023•16 min
A virtual goldmine of data generated from thousands of research, development and extension projects – all supported by GRDC – will soon be discoverable, accessible and able to be used to accelerate research outcomes. GRDC’s Data Partnerships Initiative is a $2.8 million investment over 18 months and it brings together 12 Australian research organisations that are currently working on projects in which GRDC has invested. Decades of data has been collected on a range of topics including yield, soi...
Sep 12, 2023•15 min
Spring is a critical time for disease detection in order to avoid or at least minimise yield losses; and already we are seeing higher infection levels than in previous years. Dr Hari Dadu is a senior research scientist with Agriculture Victoria has nearly a decade of experience working with crop diseases and is now leading the Septoria tritici blotch research in wheat, in the low and medium rainfall areas of the southern region. And in addition to this research, GRDC is also investing in three m...
Sep 05, 2023•17 min
Plant pathologist, Kurt Lindbeck from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (DPI) at Wagga Wagga, discusses the challenges for growers when assessing disease risk this season. What signs should growers be looking for, how is and does weather affect decision making and what are the considerations for fungicide application? Kurt’s key message for growers this season around disease detection is to get out there and walk among their crops and observe any signs of disease. Download the...
Aug 29, 2023•15 min
Data recently collected as part of the GRDC investment "Measuring Harvest Losses in the western region," has helped to identify opportunities for growers to reclaim grain that is lost during harvest. A report published on the back of this investment shows that more than $320 million dollars’ worth of grain was lost in Western Australia during the 2022/23 harvest. The podcast explores the data and what growers can do about lowering those losses. Download the transcript for this episode Contact: D...
Aug 22, 2023•10 min
Join agricultural procurement specialist and speaker at a recent GRDC Farm Business Update Rob Dawes talk about the urea supply and how to prevent getting caught short again. And then Horsham agronomist Matthew Sparke will share his insights on the strategic application of what nitrogen you do have to get the most out of it. Lack of urea supply is a major issue for growers, particularly in the south east of the country. A number of factors have contributed to the supply chain issue, and we speak...
Aug 15, 2023•15 min
At GRDC Grower Network Forums in the Western region, the issue of poor canola establishment was raised by growers in the low rainfall zone who mainly flagged problems when the crop is dry sown. This investment aimed to validate and extend previous agronomic and management research on how to successfully establish canola in those regions and conditions. To find out more, we speak to Living Farm’s Andrew Wherrett, who has been leading the project, along with Merredin grower Phillip Gray who has a ...
Aug 08, 2023•15 min
