The Soil CRC Knowledge Sharing Project extension series is produced and presented by Simon Kruger, project grower group participant and Project Communications Officer at West Midlands Group in Western Australia. In this four-part series, Simon sits down with other participating grower group representatives to reflect on some of the key learnings from the Soil CRC's Knowledge Sharing Project. In this episode Simon chats to AIR EP’s Joshua Telfer about shifting soil and land management narratives....
Feb 22, 2024•25 min
The Soil CRC Knowledge Sharing Project extension series is produced and presented by Simon Kruger, project grower group participant and Project Communications Officer at West Midlands Group in Western Australia. In this four-part series, Simon sits down with other participating grower group representatives to reflect on some of the key learnings from the Soil CRC's Knowledge Sharing Project. In this episode Simon chats to his West Midlands Group colleagues Dr Nathan Craig and Melanie Dixon about...
Feb 22, 2024•16 min
The Soil CRC Knowledge Sharing Project extension series is produced and presented by Simon Kruger, project grower group participant and Project Communications Officer at West Midlands Group in Western Australia. In this four-part series, Simon sits down with other participating grower group representatives to reflect on some of the key learnings from the Soil CRC's Knowledge Sharing Project. In this episode Simon chats to Central West Farming System’s Diana Fear about engaging with farmers in ch...
Feb 22, 2024•17 min
The Soil CRC Knowledge Sharing Project extension series is produced and presented by Simon Kruger, project grower group participant and Project Communications Officer at West Midlands Group in Western Australia. In this four-part series, Simon sits down with other participating grower group representatives to reflect on some of the key learnings from the Soil CRC's Knowledge Sharing Project. In this episode Simon chats to Birchip Cropping Group’s Kelly Angel about reactive events and strategic e...
Feb 22, 2024•16 min
In this episode of Paddock Chat we sit down with Justin Laycock, who is a Research Scientist at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Justin speaks about how DPIRD and growers across the Wheatbelt have been collaborating to transform ground cover management as we know it. If you would like more information, contact Justin at justin.laycock@dpird.wa.gov.au. Resources: Geoglam RaPP NRInfo National Maps (previously Terria Cube) Terria Cube How To Guide VegMachine Support th...
Jul 25, 2023•17 min
In this episode of Paddock Chat we sit down with Rabobank Farm Inputs Analyst Vitor Cacula Pistoia to discuss the current land market in Australia. Vitor provides insights into how land values are tracking across the country, the reasons behind the current trends and more importantly, how land values compare in the West Midlands region. Vitor also provides an outlook for the future and what we might expect moving forward. If you missed our earlier episode with Rabobank Senior Strategist for Glob...
Jul 11, 2023•24 min•Ep. 69
In this week’s episode of Paddock Chat WMG Executive Officer Nathan Craig chats with Bayer Crop Science's Matt Willis about successful strategies for fenceline weed management. Matt speaks about historical applications and management of paddock fencelines, the continual increase in glyphosate resistance, new alternatives and trials with Bayer's Alion©, best practice and the 2023 WMG Spring Field Day Bayer Fenceline Trial. We hope you enjoy this episode, if you would like to learn more about the ...
Jun 28, 2023•15 min•Ep. 68
"Exploring Global Economics & Markets with Ben Picton: Rising Interest Rates, Consumer Trends, Social License, the Pandemic's Impact and more" Senior Strategist for Global Economics & Markets in the Australia/New Zealand region for Rabobank, Ben Picton, delves into the current economic landscape to cover several key areas impacting the Agricultural industry. If you would like to contact your local Rabobank branch you can find them via their website https://www.rabobank.com.au/ or in the ...
Jun 13, 2023•21 min0
In this episode of Paddock Chat, we speak with Anna Cornell from NACC NRM about the 'Growing Great Ground' project. The project aims to combat wind erosion and enhance on-farm biodiversity in the northern agricultural region. Anna, who has a personal connection to the region, shares her passion for making a positive impact on her community and the environment. Anna discusses how workshops and other events have played a crucial role in educating producers about new technologies and sustainable pr...
May 30, 2023•20 min
In this episode of Paddock Chat, WMG Executive Officer Nathan Craig sat down with Reagan Manns from RSM Australia to talk through the federal budget handed down on 9 May 2023. While this was considered a pretty tame budget, there were a few tweaks that snuck in at the last minute, including updates to the instant write-off threshold and taxing of profit in superannuation funds. For more information on this topic or to contact Reagan directly, reach out to Reagan.Manns@rsm.com.au or call 9652 238...
May 15, 2023•10 min0
In this week’s episode of Paddock Chat we speak with agronomist Nick Eyres about his journey to starting his own agronomy business, Greenough Specialty Ag, and how it has allowed him to expand the research side of his role. Nick speaks highly about the importance of increasing protein development in farming systems and tackling other common soil health issues in the northern ag region. We hope you enjoy this episode, if you would like to learn more about the West Midlands Group and how we help s...
Apr 27, 2023•23 min0
It is widely recognised across the WA Wheatbelt that crops and pastures need large amounts of Potassium (K) to achieve maximum plant growth. Most of the agricultural soils in WA are low in K and this means plants mainly rely on getting K from the soil through fertiliser application and recycling of plant-available K from deeper in the soil layers. This episode explores potassium nutrition in the West Midlands region with Summit Fertilizers Area Manager, Brett Beard, and WMG Mixed Farming Systems...
Apr 14, 2023•22 min
The Good, The Bad and the Fungi: A Look at Soil Pathogens This episode takes a closer look at the microscopic world of soil pathogens with Dr Dominie Wright, Senior Laboratory Scientist in DDLS and leader of the DPIRD plant diagnostic group. Dominie joins WMG EO Dr Nathan Craig and WMG Mixed Farming Systems Officer Melanie Dixon to discuss how growers can better identify and manage soil pathogens (known more commonly as root diseases) on their property. This conversation is supported by the key ...
Mar 29, 2023•28 min0
WMG EO Nathan Craig interviews WMG’s Beef Industry Development Officer Erin O’Brien on her BeefLinks Backgrounding project. This episode explores the findings of the project, and what’s in store for the future. The project is part of a more extensive BeefLinks Program, funded by Meat & Livestock Australia through the Donor company and University of Western Australia. This program is a four-year research partnership that aims to drive an integrated and complementary R&D program for northe...
Mar 15, 2023•29 min
This episode explores the current challenges for weed control in the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia from the view of Matt Willis, Market Development Agronomist with Bayer Crop Science. Newly appointed Director of the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) Associate Professor Ken Flower joins the discussion to outline how collaboration between all industry stakeholders is needed to develop a more robust and diverse farming system that has a lower reliance on herbicid...
Feb 22, 2023•23 min
Diving into how to take control of livestock depredation on your farm WMG host Erin O'Brien dives into Wild Dog control and the need for proactive management. In this episode WMG host Erin O'Brien dives into what are the signs of wild dog activity and how to minimise stock depredation with guests Greg Mifsud National Wild Dog Management Coordinator from Invasive Species Solutions and Paul Pitaro Lead LPMT from Vertebrate Pest Management. Greg and Paul explain why it's crucial to have a baiting p...
Feb 09, 2023•21 min
Did you know that the rules around asset depreciation are changing on the 1 July 2023? With the $1000 write-off threshold being reintroduced next financial year, RSM Principal Reagan Manns joins WMG Executive Officer Nathan Craig to find out what this could mean for your business when buying and replacing machinery in the coming years. Find out the questions you need to ask to avoid paying more tax than you need to! This episode covers: *How to structure your farm business to avoid a higher tax ...
Jan 25, 2023•26 min•Ep. 58
Episode 4, and the final in our collaboration series focusing on precision ag and mental wellbeing in partnership with the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia and Mallee Sustainable Farming. Tanya Lehman wears many hats and is well known in her community for her work in supporting regional communities, helping them to truly thrive. Her latest role sees her helping to support a new project coaching a new group of ‘Vocal Locals’ in the community that are there to share their experiences of ...
Aug 31, 2022•12 min•Ep. 57
Episode 3 in our collaboration series focusing on precision ag and mental wellbeing in partnership with the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia and Mallee Sustainable Farming. Tim Paschke is a South Australian northern Mallee farmer based at Lowbank who farms in one of the most marginal rainfall zones for cropping in Australia, and for that matter the World. Tim is currently an ambassador and advocate for the Vocal Local project, an initiative of the ifarmwell program. ifarmwell is a free...
Aug 31, 2022•14 min•Ep. 56
Farmer and consultant Felicity Turner joins Mallee Sustainable Farming’s Tanja Morgan, providing an insight into her work in supporting farmers in the Mallee and Upper Southeast region of SA in relation to integrating Precision Ag (PA) systems into their farming operations. Felicity shares her experiences in working with farming families, including the role of PA in helping to guide and make informed decisions. This is the second episode in our collaboration series focusing on precision ag and m...
Aug 30, 2022•13 min•Ep. 55
This episode marks the beginning of a 4-part series of episodes West Midlands Group are releasing in collaboration with the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia and Mallee Sustainable Farming. SPAA is Australasia’s leading independent advocate and facilitator for increased research, extension and adoption of precision agriculture, delivering industry wide value across different sectors. MSF are a grower group bringing farmers and researchers together to build more efficient, profitable and...
Aug 29, 2022•13 min•Ep. 54
In this episode WMG Comms Officer Simon Kruger & Mixed Farming Systems Officer Melanie Dixon are joined by Geoff Moore, Research Scientist at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. When grasshopper issues first arose in the 2021 season in the West Midlands region, Geoff was the first respondent on the ground with the WMG team and our affected members. Geoff specialises in legumes, pastures, livestock feedbase and groundcover among many things, and chats with us as par...
Jul 21, 2022•25 min•Ep. 53
Communications Officer Simon Kruger and Mixed Farming Systems Officer Melanie Dixon recently sat down with local farmer and WMG member Don Bradshaw. Don is the Manager at ‘Jutomara Park’, a grazing operation running cattle only, predominantly brought down from Yanrey Station near Exmouth for backgrounding. Recalling a series of events over the previous seasons including the effects of cutworm, unseasonal rainfall and increased grasshopper numbers, Don noticed a perfect ‘low groundcover’ storm wa...
Jun 30, 2022•35 min•Ep. 52
Communications Officer Simon Kruger and Beef Industry Development Officer Erin O’Brien recently sat down with local farmer and WMG member Steele Rudd. Steele runs ‘Our Selection’ at Eganu, a mixed enterprise farm, consisting of a continuous cropping program combined with a cattle operation rotationally grazed across improved perennial and annual pastures. Steele’s proactive response to high grasshopper numbers and an increase in bare patches in the 2021 season has paid dividends, and not only ha...
Jun 16, 2022•29 min•Ep. 51
It is believed that ancient South American cultures would use a rudimentary form of biochar to increase soil productivity thousands of years ago. Fast forward to the present day and the word Biochar is used to describe a substance that looks almost like charcoal, but that is actually biomass carbonized and made into a solid material, used in a multitude of ways from filtration to improving soil function and fertility. One of the key impacts of climate change is its inevitable threat to the agric...
May 10, 2022•34 min•Ep. 50
In this episode, Daniel Real, Feedbase Pastural Researcher at the Department of Primary Industry & Regional Development (DPRID) joins us to talk about the Feed365 project and solving a common problem for farmers in the West Midlands region and across WA: early and late season feed gaps . Daniel joins WMG Graduate Communications Officer Simon Kruger and Mixed Farming Systems Officer Melanie Dixon to give our listeners an insight into Feed365, the first phase of research, and how this innovati...
Apr 26, 2022•20 min•Ep. 49
Amelia Nolan, Program Manager at The Livestock Collective (TLC) joins the podcast to talk with us about the importance of developing widespread knowledge of the ins and outs of the Australian livestock and broader agricultural industries. WMG Beef Industry Development Officer Erin O’Brien chats with Amelia about her story, role at TLC and her wealth of knowledge concerning social license and the importance of the community getting access to information that is real and authentic, from all along ...
Apr 12, 2022•27 min•Ep. 48
Dr. Mike Ashworth, Research Agronomist at the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative and Matt Willis, Market Development Agronomist at Bayer Crop Science join the podcast to share their knowledge and strategies for weed control in your farming system. WMG E.O Nathan Craig leads these 2 special guests on a deep dive into the key elements of an effective herbicide strategy based on the research they have been working on over the last few years. This special bumper edition of Paddock Chat conta...
Mar 28, 2022•47 min•Ep. 47
In this episode of PaddockChat, Executive Officer Nathan Craig talks with former WMG Graduate Project Officer Adam Anfuso about the Long Season Wheat Project. Which was the best preforming variety? How far did the wheat roots actually penetrate into the soil? Should we be growing Long Season Wheat varieties more? Nathan and Adam guide us through how we can effectively use our sandy soils down to and below 2 metres, focusing on the concept and results of the 2021 WMG Long Season Wheat Project. Ad...
Mar 15, 2022•19 min•Ep. 46
Part 2 of To Chickpea, or not to Chickpea . In part 2 of this episode, Nathan Craig (WMG Executive Officer) continues his conversation with Mark Seymour & Harmohinder Dhammu from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, talking yield and weed control considerations in chickpeas. This is part 2 of a special two-part episode, so if you've missed part 1, be sure to download and listen to it now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1067260/10154438 Support the show...
Mar 01, 2022•18 min•Ep. 45
