Widespread frosts on top of a very dry season mean that southern growers are having to make some tough decisions. We speak to consulting agronomist, Martin Culbert, who is traveling across the southern region and helping growers with their post frost decision making. Martin advice is to approach the situation logically, and to get out there and conduct an assessment of the entire paddock in order to get a grasp of where the worst impact is – before making a salvage decision. There may be areas w...
Oct 01, 2024•14 min
Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Belinda Cay. Belinda Cay is an experienced agricultural communicator. Across her career she has had a breadth of experience that has uniquely put her in the position to “put others in the spotlight” in a way that has supported them and in turn the broader agricultural industry. She grew up on a family farm and was influenced by her father, who was a plant breeder. Belinda's early connections to agriculture included riding bikes around the ...
Sep 29, 2024•43 min
Blackleg is the most serious disease in Australian canola, and while fungicides are commonly used to help manage this disease, there are concerns that an overreliance on fungicides could encourage fungicide resistance. In order to explore this further, GRDC is making a significant investment into fungicide resistant management strategies in blackleg in canola. Extensive research is taking place at the Grains Innovation Park in Horsham in Victoria's Wimmera region. We catch up with Dr Angela van ...
Sep 24, 2024•17 min
Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Ross Kingwell Ross Kingwell has had a long and distinguished career as an agricultural economist, with over 150 published journals and book chapters and 350 conference papers and major policy and industry reports. In this GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Ross shares years of wisdom in research, science, agro-politics and some pivotal moments that shaped who he is today. His early years were influenced by family exposure to ...
Sep 22, 2024•32 min
Neil Smith farms at Merredin in Western Australia and after dabbling in chickpeas in the early 2000s, he has now been growing the crop continuously for the past four years. As president of MADFIG, the Merredin and Districts Farm Improvement Group, Neil is a big advocate of peer-to-peer learning and is a part of the cohort of 'Legume Leaders' that has been established by the Grower Group Alliance, with investment from GRDC. In this episode, Neil shares the challenges and benefits of growing chick...
Sep 17, 2024•8 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Ben Single Ben Single, founder of Single Ag, discusses his journey from studying aerospace engineering to developing a weed mapping system using drones. This GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre explores the importance of controlling chemical-resistant weeds in agriculture and the challenges of implementing new technology on the farm. Ben highlights the role of his family in the business, the need for clear communication and...
Sep 15, 2024•25 min
Shane Boardman and his family moved from Victoria to northern New South Wales in the late eighties. Not long after their move, they started dabbling in precision agriculture technologies. In the mid-nineties he commissioned an electromagnetic survey of one of his paddocks. At the time, he didn't have the machinery to take the EM data and apply VR technologies. It was when Boardman Ag took over Glen Ayr properties south of Goondiwindi, that they embarked on the next steps and turned their attenti...
Sep 10, 2024•12 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Loretta Serafin Loretta Serafin is a research agronomist with the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries. In this GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Loretta discusses her work in the summer grains industry and her passion for providing quality research results to growers. She talks about her love of plants, the challenges and rewards of working in agriculture and the importance of access to reliable information....
Sep 08, 2024•37 min
Instances of spot form net blotch in barley crops across the low rainfall zones of Western Australia have been increasing in recent years, mainly due to the increased area of barley on barley, and the use of more susceptible varieties in these areas. A GRDC investment with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is aiming to quantify the yield impact of spot form net blotch in these low rainfall environments, as well as provide growers critical info on the disease's respons...
Sep 03, 2024•12 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Jan Edwards Jan Edwards is the Director of Agronomy and Ideation at Incitec Pivot Fertilisers. In this GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Jan talks about her varied upbringing in different areas of regional Australia and her following career journey. Jan has worked in both the private and public sectors and was part of early climate change research. Today, Jan is occupied by team management, planning and improving decisio...
Sep 01, 2024•32 min
Variable rate technology falls under the umbrella of precision agriculture and it includes a range of tools that are not only becoming commonplace, but also constantly evolving. New South Wales grower, Mike Smith has been using variable rate technologies for more than 20 years and has some valuable insights. We visit Mike on his property just southeast of Moree, and he explains how technology and the data it provides helps him increase yields and profitability. Download the transcript for this e...
Aug 27, 2024•11 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Tom and Melissa Andrews Tom and Melissa Andrews, founders of Connected Farms, discuss the importance of connectivity in agriculture and how it can improve technology adoption, operational efficiency, farm safety and overall well-being. In this GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, The Andrews highlight the role of connectivity in enabling the adoption of AgTech and data-driven decision-making on farms and emphasise how conne...
Aug 25, 2024•39 min
Wanting to incorporate more legumes into the rotation, West Cranbrook grower Mark Preston has found faba beans were suited to more soil types on his farm than what lupins has been. He did a lot of research before starting to grow the new crop and has found they fit into the operation relatively seamlessly. Mark is a member of Stirlings to Coast Farmers and is a part of the cohort of 'Legume Leaders' that has been established by the Grower Group Alliance, with investment from GRDC. In this episod...
Aug 20, 2024•10 min
🎙 Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Maurice Hayes. Maurice Hayes pioneered a lot of spray machinery and was involved in the evolution of farming towards zero-till practices. In this particularly insightful GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Maurice, or ‘Cutter’ as he is well known, shares his remarkable journey in the grains industry, which started off after High School driving tractors and living in a caravan with no electricity. Back in his day, R&D wa...
Aug 18, 2024•46 min
What images or themes come to mind when you think Australian agriculture in 10…20….50 years’ time? In this podcast Futurist at Work Futures, Reanna Browne, offers up new perspective and practical advice for the grains industry to approach the future as something in the present, not a distant concept. Reanna was the keynote speaker at the recent 2024 Victorian GRDC farm business updates and encouraged the audience to challenge their assumptions about the future and think about change in practical...
Aug 13, 2024•12 min
Agriculture and plants have been ingrained in Georgie Pengilley’s life since the beginning on a farm in Tasmania. In this GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Georgie talks about how her career progressed into agronomic research with the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, a PhD and to now as the CEO of the Rice Breeding Australia. Georgie, her father and her husband have all been involved in GRDC panels across eastern Australia. She discusses the importance of building...
Aug 11, 2024•30 min
The Australian soybean industry has received a boost with a new online soybean manual and a series of workshops. The initiatives are part of GRDC’s investment which aims to reinvigorate the soybean industry, particularly in the northern region. The investment is also supporting growers to optimise the production and reliability of soybean yield and also identify the key agronomic practice and future opportunities required for the sustainable growth in the Australian soybean industry. GRDC has pa...
Aug 07, 2024•15 min
🎙Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with John Woods. John is a business owner and farmer at his home property ‘Booroola’ in Northern New South Wales. He is well known to many in GRDC circles as the Chair of the Grains Research and Development Corporation. He is a fun, charismatic person known for his ability to get things done and have a laugh along the way. In this chat we chat to him about his tenure as chair of GRDC, his farming business, how he has seen Australian Grain Pro...
Aug 04, 2024•36 min
GRDC invests in many different approaches to the control of weeds, pests and diseases, including crop protection products. The world of chemical regulation can be complicated, and GRDC’s role in it is something many growers would like a better understanding of. In this episode, Bencubbin grower and GRDC Western Panel Member Nick Gillett interviews GRDC Manager Chemical Regulation Gordon Cumming about GRDC’s role in chemical regulation. Download the transcript for this episode Contact Gordon Cumm...
Jul 30, 2024•12 min
At Ravensthorpe in Western Australia, about 200km west of Esperance, field peas seem to grow well on the high pH, high clay content soils of Peter Daw's farm. While getting the legume established in the farming system involved a bit of trial and error, after more than ten years, they are now often Peter's highest gross margin crop. Peter is a part of the cohort of 'Legume Leaders' that has been established by the Grower Group Alliance, with investment from GRDC. These leaders are sharing their i...
Jul 23, 2024•9 min
New research insights suggest that deep sown long coleoptile wheat (LCW) varieties is an effective way to avoid rhizoctonia infection. It’s one of the many added benefits of LCW emerging as part of a $12.7 million GRDC investment to provide growers with the knowledge and tools to integrate LCW into their farming systems once the genetics become commercially available. In this podcast we hear all about the rhizoctonia research from two project participants, Dr Jonathan Anderson and Michael Lamond...
Jul 16, 2024•11 min
The GRDC Emerging Leader Award recognises the commitment of a professional with less than ten years’ experience in the grains industry. At the Adelaide GRDC update event in February 2024, Jana Freebairn (nee Dixon) was presented with the Emerging Leader Award for her work as an agronomy consultant helping deliver benchmarking and on-farm management succession services. Since finishing a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Adelaide five years ago, Jana has quickly become a high...
Jul 09, 2024•11 min
For the 2024 growing season, some Western Australian growers are chasing moisture deeper than ever before, by successfully planting conventional wheat varieties down to around 60 to 80mm. This new thinking stems from positive findings from long coleoptile wheat (LCW) research. In this podcast, we hear from Tammin-based grower, Simon York, and SLR agriculture CEO Michael Lamond, on the benefits LCW will have accessing deep moisture and the success growers are having with planting conventional var...
Jul 02, 2024•13 min
In the Lake Grace area, grower Ed Naisbitt has been growing lupins on the family farm for 40 years. It was a crop initially established by his father, and one that has remained a constant in the rotation as the years have gone by. Ed is a part of the cohort of 'Legume Leaders' that has been established by the Grower Group Alliance, with investment from GRDC. These leaders are sharing their insights on the various legume crops over a seven-part series throughout 2024. In this episode, Ed tells us...
Jun 25, 2024•14 min
Long coleoptile wheat (LCW) varieties are proving to be a good insurance policy to ensure emergence in ameliorated soil. This is one of the many positive findings so far from the national $12.7m GRDC investment to help Australian growers integrate long coleoptile wheat into their farming systems once the genetics are commercially available. In this podcast, we hear from Dr Stephen Davies from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the CSIRO’s Dr Greg Rebetzke o...
Jun 18, 2024•15 min
Does the term 'regenerative agriculture' make you want to high-five the farmer next to you, or send you running for the hills? In this week's podcast we talk to Dr Hanabeth Luke ( Southern Cross University ) and Victorian grain grower and GRDC Southern Panel member Tim McClelland about regenerative agriculture - what it means and what indicators we could use to measure progress towards improved soil health and farm resilience. The research team is looking for a broad range of growers to get invo...
Jun 11, 2024•10 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Steve Madden Steve Madden has over 30 years experience as an agronomist and is the inventor of an insect management device called Crop Capsule. In this GRDC in Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Steve discusses his career progression, advancements in agricultural technology, using beneficial insects to manage pests in crops, the process in commercialising a product, agricultural community, evolutions and opportunities in the sect...
Jun 09, 2024•41 min
The GRDC Emerging Leader Award recognises the commitment of a professional with less than ten years’ experience in the grains industry. At the Perth GRDC update event in February 2024, Robert Harrison was presented with the Emerging Leader Award for his valuable work in legume and pasture agronomy. Robert is a research scientist at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and Murdoch University. Download the transcript for this episode Contact Robert Harrison , Depar...
Jun 04, 2024•7 min
🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Tony Lockrey Tony Lockrey is both a farmer and agronomist based in the farming community of Moree, New South Wales. Tony's contributions extend beyond aiding farmers with their cropping programs; he has emerged as a prominent figure in fostering safe spaces and facilitating important conversations. In this GRDC in Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Tony discusses farming practises and cropping rotations in the area, his career pa...
Jun 02, 2024•50 min
Precision agriculture has been around for a while and it's meant to make a difference for the better, but does it always? In this episode we’re joined by two growers in similar parts of South Australia who have different takes on the value of precision ag or PA. James Venning, near Bute, has continually experimented with everything from variable-rate seeders to protein monitors. Nearby at Crystal Brook, Andrew Sargent's family were early adopters of precision ag. Download the transcript for this...
May 28, 2024•19 min
