We know Brolga and Kookaburra are great Australian birds but they are also the names of two new, game changing varieties of mungbeans. To find out how growers can access these higher yielding mungbean varieties, we speak to Queensland Department of Primary Industries principal plant breeder, Dr Merrill Ryan. Also during this podcast we talk to Allora grower, Tim Thorne, who is considering the varieties for his next rotation. Contact: Dr Merrill Ryan, Principal Scientist: Crop Genetics QLD Depart...
Jul 22, 2025•17 min
Kate Witham is a research agronomist in Western Australia and has a passion for broad acre cropping. She’s also the 2025 recipient of GRDC'S “Emerging Leader Award” in the West. So far, Kate’s career highlight has been her role as the SLR lead working on GRDC’s Long Coleoptile Wheat project, led by CSIRO. She's a dynamic operator in the industry, helping growers reap the benefits of her ongoing research across agricultural regions of Western Australia, and around the country. Contact: Kate Witha...
Jul 15, 2025•11 min
In this episode of GRDC In Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre sits down with Brad Egan, a forward-thinking grain grower from Esperance, Western Australia. Brad shares insights into the evolution of his family farm, the challenges of farming in a changing climate, and how data-driven decision-making is helping to improve productivity despite declining rainfall. From using drones to optimise spraying efficiency to a long-term soil amelioration project that has transformed low-performing soils into s...
Jul 13, 2025•33 min
Precision weed management is where optical sensors and remote and sensor weed mapping systems are used to target weeds and therefore cut herbicide costs. The technology is becoming more widely available, which is why GRDC is investing in a series of case studies, to explore the benefits and costs related to these technologies. With green on brown systems, weeds can be detected in a fallow field. And now there's also green on green technology, which uses an algorithm to differentiate between weed...
Jul 08, 2025•19 min
In Australian canola crops, turnip yellows virus is the one of the most widespread and economically damaging viruses, and over the past decade, epidemics have commonly occurred in different regions causing considerable losses. Turnip yellows virus is particularly challenging to manage because it is transmitted by green peach aphid and needs just a few aphids per plant to cause substantial spread. A GRDC investment led by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in Western Au...
Jul 01, 2025•15 min
In this episode of GRDC In Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre sits down with Callum Wesley, a third-generation farmer from Southern Cross, WA. They discuss Callum’s innovative approach to farming in a low-rainfall zone and his journey collaborating with researchers that has led to a nationwide research project which could revolutionise seeding strategies for dryland farmers across Australia. Callum shares his journey from working in agricultural research to returning home and implementing cutting-...
Jun 29, 2025•45 min
GRDC, CSIRO and University of South Australia have done a lot of work on how to deal with the sandy soil situation. Hot off the back of a huge investment, culminating in a series of workshops in 2023, they're scaling up, taking the machines and expertise to more than 20 farms across the southern region. It's a project with a great deal of grower involvement and targeted to making that sandy stuff work for growers, not against them. In this podcast we speak to CSIRO research team leader, Therese ...
Jun 24, 2025•16 min
A passion for pulses and in particular a love of lentils has inspired the career of research scientist Dr Audrey Delahunty. Growers are already benefiting from Dr Delahunty’s research into genetic solutions for heat tolerance in lentils, and now she's extending into frost quality technology and other pulses. Meantime, Dr Delahunty is also the recipient of this year’s GRDC “Emerging Leader Award” in the South. Contact: Dr Audrey Delahunty audrey.j.delahunty@agriculture.vic.gov.au More Information...
Jun 17, 2025•11 min
Gemma Walker is a mover and shaker in the Western Australian grains industry, literally! If she isn’t moving from a board meeting in one city to the next, she’s flying back home to the family sheep and wool property in Munglinup. Gemma is at the forefront of WA’s ag industry, promoting sustainable practices for the future as well as getting her hands dirty on the farm. In this episode of GRDC In Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre speaks with Gemma about her passion for the grains industry. The con...
Jun 15, 2025•46 min
Sclerotinia stem rot is a canola disease that is challenging to manage using rotation due to the wide range of crops that play host to the fungus that causes it. Since there are no Australian canola cultivars with sclerotinia resistance, the disease is usually managed with preventative fungicide sprays at flowering. However, fungicides can be costly, and their return on investment is difficult to predict. In an ideal world, Australian growers would have access to canola cultivars with resistance...
Jun 10, 2025•16 min
Precision weed management is where optical sensors and remote and sensor weed mapping systems are used to target weeds and therefore cut herbicide costs. GRDC is investing in a series of case studies to explore the benefits and costs related to precision weed management technologies. One of those case studies is Warakirri Cropping, one of Australia's largest grain growers with 11 cropping farms across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. We chat to a few of the Warakirri ...
Jun 03, 2025•13 min
Ray Harrington has always had an eye on the battle taking place in the fields of Aussie agriculture, the war on weeds and pests. So, he and a group of like-minded farmers, researchers and innovators took up the torch to solve it once and for all. In this episode of GRDC’s In Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre speaks with Ray about his journey to inventing the Harrington Seed Destructor, one of the most effective tools in dealing with weed resistance in the market. In their chat, they cover the sig...
Jun 01, 2025•1 hr 2 min
Sclerotinia in lupin is a sporadic disease found across the WA grainbelt. When weather conditions favour disease spread, it can cause significant loss of yield and grain quality. With GRDC investment, collaborative research by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the Centre for Crop and Disease Management, and the Mingenew-Irwin Group has been looking at ways lupin growers can learn to recognise risky scenarios and employ management strategies to reduce impact of the di...
May 27, 2025•18 min
A GRDC National Grower Network investment, based in Western Australia, has been working to improve knowledge of fallow management and the economic value of fallows in cropping rotations. Through this project, it has been identified that there are four key objectives growers should take into account when considering fallow – profitability, moisture, weeds, and nitrogen. In this episode, Laconik founder Darren Hughes explains that by understanding these objectives, growers will be in the best plac...
May 20, 2025•10 min
Neil Wandel moved to Esperance in 1979 with his wife, one kid, and another on the way. Their operation was a tough lot to crack, but through gumption and careful planning, they navigated the highs and lows of starting a successful farm before becoming Esperance Quality Grains. In this episode of GRDC’s In Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre speaks with Neil on how the many years of working in the grain industry have affected the community of Esperance. Neil shares his story of dropping out of schoo...
May 18, 2025•41 min
Svetlana Micic has spent the past 22 years as an entomologist with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, where she has been an exceptional communicator of GRDC-invested project work around insect pest monitoring, surveillance and integrated pest management. That dedication to ensuring information is shared with those who need it most has led her to be highly respected by growers, agronomists and consultants. It’s also the reason why she was named GRDC’s 2025 Seed of Ligh...
May 13, 2025•15 min
An ambitious GRDC investment, being led by the University of Adelaide, is working to develop new high yielding soybean varieties for a broader range of growing environments. Worth $6 million, this significant investment builds on the achievements of past breeding programs and will accelerate the delivery of new varieties to growers by ‘speed breeding’ - harnessing new technology to improve germplasm evaluation and other key breeding processes. In this podcast, we hear from lead breeder Universit...
May 06, 2025•13 min
Tom Longmire from Beaumont, Western Australia, has dedicated himself to driving sustainability and efficiency on the family farm through innovation. Through combining his learnings from Marcus Oldham College and his experience working farms across Australia, he is discovering exactly how cutting-edge technology and data-driven decision-making can improve the farm for years to come. In this episode of GRDC in Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre chats with Tom about his passion for precision agricult...
May 04, 2025•37 min
Each year, the GRDC Seed of Light Award recognises the outstanding contribution, dedication, and commitment of individuals to communicating research outcomes to people working in the grains industry. At the Goondiwindi GRDC Grains Research Update event in March 2025, Mark Congreve was presented with the prestigious award for his valuable work in the agricultural extension space. Mark is a senior consultant at Independent Consultants Australia Network (ICAN) and in this podcast he shares his thou...
Apr 29, 2025•12 min
Fusarium crown rot in cereals is often associated with a tough finish, but the characteristic whiteheads are far from the full picture. It’s a significant disease with hidden yield impacts even in a good year, so pro-active management at pre-sowing is a must. In this podcast, senior researcher with NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Dr Steven Simpfendorfer shares the latest research and advice to reduce disease impacts. Then, Riverine Plain’s Kate Coffey shares why th...
Apr 22, 2025•19 min
New precision weed management technologies are helping Australian grain growers to more effectively target weeds and ultimately reduce their total herbicide costs. Optical sensors as well as ‘remote and sensor’ weed mapping systems are becoming more widely available, and that’s why GRDC is investing in a series of case studies to explore the benefits and costs related to these technologies. In this podcast we look at a new system developed out of necessity by the Single family in New South Wales...
Apr 15, 2025•9 min
The National Variety Trials (NVT) Program was established by GRDC in 2005 and since then it has evolved into the largest coordinated variety trial network in the world. Each year, more than 640 trials are conducted across over 300 locations nationwide, encompassing 10 different crop species. This year marks the 20-year anniversary of NVT – a great time to reflect on the evolution and success of the program. In this podcast we speak to prominent plant breeder and former GRDC managing director, Dr...
Apr 08, 2025•11 min
Victorian agricultural consultant, Cam Nicholson, has had a career spanning more than four decades – and over the years he’s learned a lot but mostly he spends his time passing on his knowledge to others. And that’s one of the reasons Cam has received this year’s GRDC “Seed of Light Award” in the south, which recognises the outstanding contribution, dedication and commitment of individuals to communicating research outcomes to people working in the grains industry. We caught up with Cam to discu...
Apr 01, 2025•18 min
Rhizoctonia is an important disease of cereals in southern and western growing regions, especially in low rainfall areas. Losses have been estimated at about $15 per hectare for wheat and $12 per hectare for barley in the southern region. Unfortunately, fungicide control of rhizoctonia has proven to be difficult, often with mixed results with seed treatments. In February 2025, we sat down with Blake Gontar from the South Australian Research and Development Institute to talk about a previous GRDC...
Mar 25, 2025•16 min
With the ever-increasing cost of farming, getting bang for your herbicide buck is an important consideration when it comes to chemical handling and sprayer set-up. In this podcast Victorian grower, Richard Stecher, shares his experience with getting professional advice on correct sprayer set-up. We also hear from Nutrien Ag agronomist, Chris Dunn, who shares his thoughts on how agronomists and growers can get good advice on chemical usage. Contact Chris Dunn Agronomist, Nutrien Ag chris.dunn@nut...
Mar 18, 2025•12 min
More is not always better when it comes to adding nitrogen (N) to your irrigated wheat crop. That's one of the key messages from a GRDC investment that’s been set up to investigate profitable, irrigated farming systems. In this podcast, FAR Australia Managing Director, Nick Poole, Pinion Advisory senior consultant, Brendan Wallace and Francis grower, Wayne Hawkins, share some surprising findings from focus paddock trials as well as some insights on how to get the most out of applied N under irri...
Mar 11, 2025•20 min
A major farming systems initiative, spanning five years, is underway in the low and medium-rainfall regions of Western Australia. Its aim is to support growers in navigating evolving climatic conditions, enabling them to make informed business and agronomic choices to bolster both on-farm profitability and sustainability. In this episode, we get an overview of the results from the first two-seasons of the project from grower and trial host Kevin Naisbitt and DPIRD’s Martin Harries. Contact Marti...
Mar 04, 2025•15 min
Both yield and performance rely heavily on good crop establishment, which is why GRDC is investing in a range of projects to determine the key factors affecting crop establishment. Getting crops established in hot, dry conditions is the focus of this research, which also looks at soil textures and deep sowing across multiple environments. In this podcast we speak to CSIRO farming systems researcher, Dr Kenton Porker, who provided an update on the current learnings and advancements in crop establ...
Feb 25, 2025•13 min
In this week's podcast, machinery specialist Jack Desbiolles from the University of South Australia runs through important considerations for seeder set-up when sowing long coleoptile wheat varieties. The work is part of a major national GRDC project, led by CSIRO, exploring integrating long coleoptile wheat into Australian farming systems. Research partners include the University of Melbourne, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, ...
Feb 18, 2025•13 min
Listeners are advised that this podcast contains references to suicide There’s no shortage of stressors in farming, and while crop destruction is often clearly visible, the impact on grower mental health can be less apparent. Although awareness and access to rural mental health services is growing, agronomists can sometimes find themselves on the frontline witnessing or discussing issues with growers that go beyond the paddock. In this GRDC podcast, University of South Australia Associate Profes...
Feb 11, 2025•21 min
