Grains Research and Development Corporation on LinkedIn: #grdcevents #growerresources #dowerinfielddays2024 (2024)

Harvester workshops are set to hit South Australia and Victoria later this month to bring together harvester specialists, industry experts and researchers to give grain growers the latest advice ahead of this season’s harvest. Our Harvester Set-up Workshops will be hosted by AIR EP - Ag Innovation & Research Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) in Victoria in collaboration with local growers: ⭐ 18 September, Kimba, SA https://bit.ly/47dXjC3⭐ 19 September, Wudinna, SA https://bit.ly/47aQwcl⭐ 20 September, Cummins, SA https://bit.ly/4cNmsVr⭐ 24 September, Catumnal, Victoria https://bit.ly/47cFfsb ⭐ 26 September, Stewarton, Victoria https://bit.ly/4cSTvHL GRDC Southern Panel chair and Rutherglen grain grower Andrew Russell has attended past harvester set-up workshops. He said they are an “awesome resource” and one of the best parts of attending is listening to the conversations between growers, skilled header operators and other machinery experts.Grain losses at harvest cost producers millions of dollars each season. Of these losses, up to half could be recovered with adjustments to harvester settings, machinery sensor calibrations and equipment modifications. The workshops provide a grower-friendly forum for capturing knowledge to reduce risks at harvest and maximise efficiency. 👉 Read more https://bit.ly/3AOQ0Vq

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GRDC and the have released additional details on the $56M Soil Water and Nutrition (SWAN) collaboration announced last month.The 5-year collaboration aims to lift water and nutrient use efficiency in WA grain production to achieve water use efficiency gains of more than 10%.DPIRD principal research scientist and SWAN collaboration manager Dr Stephen Davies said the initiative will have 3 strategic programs:🚧 expanding soil reengineering and water management, led by Dr Gaus Azam🌱 integrated nutrient management systems to sustainably supply crop nutrients longer-term, led by Dr Craig Scanlan👨🌾 readiness for industry adoption, led by Wayne ParkerKalannie grower Bob Nixon has been involved in soils research in WA for several years and said WA growers were now benefiting from widespread amelioration practices like liming, deep ripping and spading, but there is significant potential for further gains for WA grain production under the SWAN collaboration. More information: https://bit.ly/3AdDE92Pictured: DPIRD SWAN collaboration lead Dr Stephen Davies; GRDC sustainable cropping systems manager Rowan Maddern; GRDC Senior Regional Manager Peter Bird; DPIRD research scientist Wayne Parker; GRDC Regional Panel Chair Gary Lang; DPIRD Senior Principal Research Scientist and Soils Portfolio Manager Chris Gazey.#Soils #SWANCollaboration #GrainGrowers

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A new research consortium has been launched to close knowledge gaps around Septoria avenae leaf blotch, a significant disease in Australian oat crops 🌾🌾. The Oat Septoria Research Consortium is the second oat research consortium to be established by GRDC in 2024, following the launch of the Oat Grain Quality Consortium earlier this year.The $4.18 million initiative will see 3 programs established, led by: ◻️ South Australian Research and Development Institute (the research division of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions)◻️ Murdoch University in conjunction with the Western Australian ◻️ Curtin University's Centre for Crop and Disease ManagementRead more: https://bit.ly/3zaLO1E#GroundCoverOnline #Oats #Septoria #OatDisease

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🎙️ NEW PODCAST: GRDC in ConversationJan Edwards is the Director of Agronomy and Ideation at Incitec Pivot Fertilisers. In this GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre from Humans of Agriculture, Jan talks about her varied upbringing in different areas of regional Australia and her 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 decision support systems in her role. The conversation concludes with a discussion with a focus on opportunities, which Jan narrows down to efficiency and cost-effectiveness for product development and materials in fertiliser being incorporated into a circular economy. Listen now ▶️ https://bit.ly/4g6JUQA#GRDCinConversation #GRDCPodcast #Humansofa*g

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🌾🧬 Keeping cereal crops free of rust disease relies on a decades-old surveillance system where plant pathologists run diagnostics on samples from across Australia. Now, the toolkit available to process those samples is being expanded by researchers at CSIRO.In a world-first breakthrough, the CSIRO team has developed the genetic resources needed to establish a rapid, high-throughput and DNA-based rust-monitoring system.It can track changes in pathogen evolution and even anticipate a breakdown in resistance in wheat crops.Read more: https://bit.ly/3T8bPpc📷 CSIRO#GroundcoverOnline #Rust #CerealDiesease #CropGenetics

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Slugs are unique. Unlike insects, they don't have a set life cycle and are opportunistic, breeding when conditions are favourable. They're also hermaphrodites, meaning that both mating individuals can produce eggs.Dr Michael Nash, from La Trobe University and University of Adelaide, says that while dry spring conditions might have reduced slug breeding in 2023, slugs can live for 2 years so they're likely to still pose a risk in 2024.He says the following lessons allowed for successful management in 2023:👍 High soil moisture is the main predictor of high slug activity.👍 Wet winters extending into cool springs in combination with bulky crops are ideal conditions for breeding.👍 Proactive management strategies give the best results and return on investment.👍 Long-lasting slug and snail bait that is resistant to rainfall, attractive, palatable and capable of spreading uniformly has been found to be effective at protecting establishing crops.Read more ▶️ https://bit.ly/4dFWzIA📷 Michael Nash#GroundCoverOnline #Slugs #CropProtection

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What issues are keeping you awake at night? 😬😵 These discussions with growers and advisers will be a key part of our western regional panel tour through the great southern in WA next month.The tour will begin at Highbury on 10 Sep before moving through Kukerin, Lake Grace, Nyabing, Broomehill, Gnowangerup and Ongerup, finishing in South Stirlings on 13 Sep.It will include visits with grower groups, field walks and visits to several GRDC-investment trial sites including:🌱 Oats🌱 Soil re-engineering🌱 Pest and weed control🌱 Farming systems 🌱 Canola establishment 🌱 Faba beans, pasture legumes and other legumes🌱 Canola on canola🌱 Snail management.Growers and industry representatives seeking details about the GRDC Western Region Panel tour can contact the Perth office on western@grdc.com.au or 08 9230 4600.#GRDCEvents #SpringPanelTour #GrainGrowers

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🌾🌾 GROWER STORY For Esperance grower Rohan Marold, the major risk to cropping in his region is waterlogging.Rohan farms at Dalyup, 680 kilometres south-east of Perth, with his wife Ruth and son Jordan. Jordan is the fourth generation to be involved in the family business.“An annual average rainfall of around 600 millimetres means every one in three years we experience a waterlogging event,” says Rohan.As the Marolds are cropping in a high-rainfall region, they apply higher inputs to chase larger potential yields but risk high financial losses when waterlogging occurs.They often do not know if they are going to suffer a crop failure until there is a heavy rainfall event, typically later in the season in July or August. They also have soil profiles that fill from the bottom up, often from perched watertables, so waterlogging can take them by surprise.But Rohan says their biggest risk is doing nothing about it.Read more: https://bit.ly/3YZqG9n📷 Evan Collis/GRDC

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🌾🌾 GROWER STORYThirty years ago, a young David Robb watched as his father Tony kept busy building a new family home.It was drought, and it was David’s first memory of it. “When dad wasn’t building the house, he was carting 20-kilogram bags of chickpea gradings down to feed the cows and we were getting hay drives up at the local recreation club.”The drought had begun in 1991 and was steadily encroaching on their farm, 90 km west of Goondiwindi on the Queensland/NSW border. By September 1994 about 83% of NSW and 40% of Queensland was drought-declared.It is a memory that is seared into David’s mind, and one that shapes how he and his family run their 1600-hectare enterprise today.David, a second-generation farmer, calls their approach “resilience farming”. His parents, Tony and Neva, bought the farm in 1985. “There is a long legacy of drought and it’s not if, but when,” he says.For the Robbs, resilience farming tools include rotational choices, alternative enterprises and weed management.The Robbs do not grow summer cereals. “The climate is too warm here. We can be 2˚C warmer than Goondiwindi (where summers average in the low 30˚Cs). Our soils cannot hold the moisture needed to make summer cereals a viable option.”Read more ▶️ https://bit.ly/3Mm2INX📷 Nicole Baxter/GRDC#GroundCoverOnline #Resilience #Farming #GrowerStory

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