“A lot of us at harvest, when pressure's on and we're trying to get more harvest hours in a day, more grain in per day, if we're limited by a grain moisture, we go and look at, I'll get a contract harvester in, I'll buy a bigger header next year, I'll go to a second or a third header next year. What if we could manage moisture in grain do it with less headers? Because we get more hours in a day. “So we can start harvest a few hours earlier or run it a few hours later or those overcast days where...
Dec 08, 2024•36 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Controlling mature fleabane is tricky. With funding from the Hugh Williamson Foundation and the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund BCG’s Research Agronomist Angus Butterfield completed a research project on controlling mature fleabane. The information shared is based on research conducted for the purpose of exploring flea bank control options and should not be considered direct advice. Please note, some herbicide rates and applications discussed may not align with registered labour requ...
Nov 26, 2024•14 min•Season 4Ep. 7
“I'm talking dry sowing because we've got a whole range of new pre-emergent herbicides, mostly from other groups, so group 13 and so on, and group 15, which have completely different properties to what we had 20 years ago. “We've actually now got an opportunity where we can use that set of chemistry to deal with our ryegrass issues and add to that our crop competition from getting our crop in early in the season. So it's just thinking, I think, about the whole system and saying, well, instead of...
Nov 25, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 6
“I find if you make the time, efficiencies come, if you're rushing around and always in a hurry to get to the next job, you find things break. Things happen, things go wrong, things get missed and that's when you lose time and then you're further behind.” Warakirri Farm Manager Jono Robinson. In the fifth episode BCG’s Janine Batters chats with Warakirri Farm Manager Jono Robinson. The conversation covers why the corporate farm always puts safety first, what structures and procedures the team ha...
Nov 17, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 5
“Because the fossil fuel sector has started reducing its emissions, the transport sector started reducing its emissions and agriculture stayed the same. Suddenly, this year, we're not 14 percent like we were last year, we're 17%. It's a percentage game. So what's going to happen over time is if agriculture does nothing, we'll become the only sector of greenhouse gas emissions while all the other sectors go to zero.” Professor Richard Eckard. In the fourth episode of our series Planning for Prosp...
Nov 03, 2024•49 min•Season 4Ep. 4
“That price gap's a hurdle for a lot of farmers. I feel that I've probably got other farmers that would, but the majority of them would not be keen to spend that amount of money compared to what they could be doing with Trojan. “Most farmers will want to see an economical return from that long term. And because we need that from every aspect of farming. “Farming is a money-making venture. We're not doing it as a hobby. “As Paul suggested, I think probably just picking a paddock at a time is a go...
Oct 20, 2024•37 min•Season 4Ep. 3
“This year, in terms of the IOD, it's just been sitting there in neutral. We've been just watching it, seeing if there's anything developing. At the moment, there's a slight hint that it's looking like it could go a little bit, negative IOD, which would actually increase our chances of some rainfall, but similar to the Pacific Ocean, in the Indian Ocean, that is purely just based on a temperature difference between the Horn of Africa and the waters off the coast of Sumatra. “Again, like the El N...
Oct 08, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Poorly managed conflict is the biggest internal threat to your business’ bottom line. There is no change without conflict and there is always conflict where there is change. The right conflict; healthy arguments over differing ideas in an environment of mutual respect; stimulates both personal and business growth. “The reason why it's [good conflict resolution] so critical is because everything that we do in every group has human interaction at its core. The quality of our lives is determined by...
Oct 06, 2024•55 min•Season 4Ep. 1
“So it's essentially a drone in a box. And it is automated, but it's only just been released, so it will open up at a predetermined time, do its map, and come back, park up and close up for the night. And people are sending them out every day to collect data, “It's in a weatherproof station that sits outside a shed or something like that. As long as it's got internet and power, you can then plan flights at any time of the day. “So it will open up. It's got its own little weather station inbuilt....
Sep 14, 2024•39 min•Season 3Ep. 8
“Just put all your chemical in as per order. The important thing is to give it the granules time to dissolve, get into the solution. “we've got scales so we can measure all the chemicals in, especially your bulk chemicals out of shuttles. “We need to know the specific density of each chemical which is all different so you need to know that before you're doing it. I've used the scales and I also put a mark on the shuttle to know that I'm getting the right volume. Using the scales properly I think...
Sep 01, 2024•27 min•Season 3Ep. 7
On the Horizon: Farm Tech Farm security with AgCloud’s Grant Sutton “But there's some more organised criminals that have a bit more nous about how they’ll tackle a farm, and they'll go to power, and they'll cut power. That can disable the system if it's not planned correctly. “It can cause the internet to go down. Say for example, so there's no alerts coming through, or it could stop a camera from working altogether.” In our sixth episode, sponsored by GE Silos, we chat with AgCloud’s Grant Sutt...
Aug 18, 2024•28 min•Season 3Ep. 6
“I’m most excited about, probably for the wrong reasons, lasers because they are awesome to use! “There's just so much energy! It just gets blasted into these weed plants in such a fantastic, intense, short period of time. It's quite satisfying to burn these weeds to a crisp with a big laser.” In our fifth episode of our series On the Horizon: Farm Tech Janine chats to Professor Michael Walsh from Charles Sturt University about alternative weed control options. The conversation covers mechanical...
Aug 04, 2024•34 min•Season 3Ep. 5
This podcast was brought to you by GE Silos. Visit https://www.gesilos.com.au/ today. "Our market has been in tow behind sprayers. They don't take a huge amount of horsepower to pull. It means we can keep our weight really light for a 24 meter boom, for example, we'll be eight ton loaded, so you can get on the ground nice and early. We don't want to go bigger because that's going away from where SwarmFarm began. “The idea with the swarm is you've got lots of small, lightweight machines doing the...
Jul 21, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 4
This podcast was brought to you by GE Silos. Visit https://www.gesilos.com.au/ today. New farm office tech and cybersecurity with Carmen Quade “I think the first thing to do is to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. When new things come in, we’re often bad at it. “And as adults, you don't like that feeling of things being difficult or hard or harder than they were. And it's just acknowledging that initially things are going to be harder before they get easier and just persisting through th...
Jul 07, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 3
“It did happen, that's true, but it's also a pain in the neck with logistics, right? At harvest time, it's hard sending trucks different ways and shifting shifters at your own site or having some trucks going to the site and some going home. The secret sauce is getting your economy right and using these maps to inform what you're doing next time around.” In our second episode, we chat with Kaniva farmer Jonathan Dyer, who shares how he uses the data from his protein machine to create nitrogen ma...
Jun 23, 2024•29 min•Season 3Ep. 2
“Take that challenge. Nut it out, really. Have a bit of persistence and find support from someone else to get ideas on how to fix it. What are other people doing to get through those wet conditions? How do they do that? Can I keep climbing that ladder, rather than starting back from scratch? Because, as we climb that ladder, our yields are improving. “We're getting way better soil health. It's better for our bottom line. We're getting way more sustainable farms.” In the first episode, we chat wi...
Jun 09, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Welcome back to Shared Ag Solutions by BCG. We're thrilled to introduce our latest series, On the Horizon: Farm Tech! In this season, BCG is on a mission to bring the latest in on-farm technology to our listeners. We'll explore topics such as protein mapping, optical spray technology and batching machines. This series will also investigate non-chemical weed management strategies, the latest in drone technology for livestock management, autonomous spray units and on-farm security. Hosted by mixed...
Jun 05, 2024•1 min•Season 3Ep. 1
“One of the issues with P allocation on, say, lentils or chickpeas is that they're not that responsive in terms of yield, but they do respond, in terms of nitrogen fixation. So phosphorus will stimulate growth, which stimulates nitrogen fixation. So your pulses, and even some of the medic pastures and vetch, for example, they're usually the first things we cut phosphorus off, in our crop budget. But in fact, what happens is, by doing that, you actually reduce some of the nitrogen input from the ...
Feb 28, 2024•30 min•Season 2Ep. 8
“…he's got individual nozzle controls, so Hawkeye, he's only spot spraying. That's all he uses the machine for. He's got a few sprayers. This is just his spot sprayer and he thinks that there is no other way to spray. He said he kicks back, watching the footy on his iPad. He's got his height controller controlling the boom. He's got his weed detect turning on and spot spraying his weeds and that's probably the best case scenario.” In the seventh episode of our eight-part Planning for Profit seri...
Feb 21, 2024•31 min•Season 2Ep. 7
“So say 2022, where we had good starting soil water, a very good timing of the break, a very positive forecast, then Yield Profit was really gung-ho and put on by, I think it was 150 kilograms of nitrogen Curyo, which is, well, very few farmers are going to do that commercially, that's over 300 kilo's per hectare of urea, whereas the nitrogen bank treatment tends to only put on about 60, or thereabouts, kilograms per hectare of nitrogen, so about 130 kilos of urea, pretty much year in, year out,...
Feb 14, 2024•33 min•Season 2Ep. 6
“So once you've had a reasonable population that's got through, it's just taken moisture off the predominant crop, which in this case, we're talking about wheat, and that yield loss, let's call it, uh, 400 kilos at a, you know, 300 gross value per ton. There's a big input there that they could have factored in. He's talking 120 gross return for a 30 input. It's just such a smart move. And there was a reason why we put it in the plan.” In the fifth episode of our eight-part Planning for Profit se...
Jan 31, 2024•40 min•Season 2Ep. 5
“It's not something that you implement and then you're finished with. You have to keep thinking about it… keep talking about it. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and you probably are going to have to change the tactics along the way. It's about that re-evaluation process,” - BCG CEO Fiona Best. In the fourth episode of our eight-part Planning for Profit series we caught up with BCG's Fiona Best to learn how we can better prepare our farm business (and ourselves) for the next inevitable drought. Ab...
Jan 17, 2024•24 min•Season 2Ep. 4
“In terms of profitability and working more hours to make more profit. The first thing I tell people is at what point do you reach maximum? You max out pretty quickly because you can only work a certain number of days in a row at a certain number of hours before you just collapse from physical exhaustion. So you reach maximum pretty quickly. Now, if you're talking about making good decisions, you don't max out. And that essentially is where you make more money.” Is there such a thing as work-lif...
Jan 03, 2024•40 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Are you focusing on what you need as a business in terms of labour? Do you know specifically what tasks a prospective employee might be undertaking and have you thought about how much farm culture can affect your staff and long-term profitability? In this podcast we caught up with people and safety expert Denise McLellan who shares her insights on how to attract and retain good employees and how they directly relate to running a profitable business. https://denisemclellan.com.au/resources You ca...
Dec 20, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Farming and Profit: While we know the weather plays a huge role in whether a season comes off or not, knowing where your money goes and why, as well as where you want your farming business to be in five, ten years, is crucial in running a profitable farm business. This is the first episode in an eight part series “Planning for Profit”, featuring Daniel Toohey, a Farm Business Advisor at Planfarm Advisory , who uses his wealth of knowledge and experience to provide strategic guidance and support ...
Dec 06, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Welcome to the Shared Ag Solutions podcast by BCG, with your host Janine Batters. Janine is a partner in a mixed farming operation in the northern Wimmera and looks after media and communications at BCG. She has been busy revamping the BCG podcast and is excited to present a new, eight part series: Planning for profit. Janine will be talking with farmers, researchers and experts in their field, covering topics such as how to organise your farm for profit AND work/life balance, how to attract goo...
Dec 04, 2023•2 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Grain paddock feed and timing operations to make the best use of that feed are key determinants for the production and profitability of a livestock enterprise. This podcast explores standing crops within a pasture rotation, and we hear from local farmer Bailey Petering and how he implements grazing of standing crops within his families mixed farming business. This project is funded by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 27, 2023•15 min•Season 1Ep. 5
“It's important to stop and take stock of where you are and what you're doing. It's easy to become consumed by a task or in a series of events.” BCG Senior Manager – Corporate and Business Services Vin Delahunty on how he stays grounded and focussed on his goals. He also shares his passions, and why, as a highly skilled ag professional, he chooses to work at BCG. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 19, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 4
BCG Research and Extension Officer Genevieve Clarke shares why she loves long distance running and what spurs her on to complete the last few kilometers, the real reason she loves to travel and the unexpected profession that inspires her to be the best version of herself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 04, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 3
BCG Research and Extension Officer Kate Finger shares how her mother’s advice brought her to Birchip, her family’s tradition of making the Russian Latvian dish pierogi and the unexpected item Kate couldn’t go a day without! Kate also shares how she stays involved in her family’s stud in Mansfield, succession planning and how her Russian grandmother inspires her every day to live her best life. For more information visit https://www.bcg.org.au/podcasts/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...
Aug 04, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 2
