GRDC Podcast

The National Grower Network is a GRDC initiative set up to directly communicate with growers and help progress locally relevant research, development and extension investments. Growers are encouraged to become involved and there are many ways to do that. To find out more about the National Grower Network, we speak to Grower Relations Manager, Vicki Green and Graham Spackman who is on the GRDC’s no...

Grain growers around Australia have a new tool, in the form of a comprehensive guide, to support informed decision making around machinery purchases. The guide, titled “Machinery investment and replacement for Australian grain growers”, is the result of a two-year GRDC initiated project to assist growers to evaluate decisions around machinery investment.  The information has been gathered from con...

For the first time in Australia, there is a biocontrol option to help tackle flaxleaf fleabane. A rust fungus from fleabane’s country of origin, Colombia, has been rigorously tested by a research team at the CSIRO and approved for release by the Australian regulator. This new tool will be available to help growers bolster their integrated weed management strategy. This research is part of a projec...

How much does the general public trust the grains industry? Recent community survey work, made possible through GRDC investment, has painted a clear picture – and the results are surprising. Dr Kieren Moffat and his team have been surveying a diverse cross-section of the community to examine areas of uncertainty such as chemical usage and GMO cropping. It’s all part of a the larger Community Trust...

Weeds are one of the largest costs to Australian growers - affecting management, yields and input costs. That’s why GRDC is a platinum partner in WeedSmart - an industry led initiative designed to deliver weed control solutions. WeedSmart is the united industry voice delivering science backed weed control solutions to growers and advisors for long term productivity in Australian agriculture. To se...

Australia’s canola industry continues to grow from strength to strength - despite the presence of blackleg, a common disease that has the potential to cause more than 90 per cent yield loss. This success story is thanks, in part, to decades of targeted GRDC investment into blackleg management – delivering significant genetic and agronomic advancements to help canola growers reduce the impact of th...

One of the greatest barriers to improving farm productivity in Australia is water. Over the past ten years, GRDC investment in water use efficiency (WUE) research has resulted in significant yield gains and underpinned an evolution in the management of summer fallows and farming sequences across Australia’s southern and western cropping regions. Southern NSW agronomist Greg Condon has been involve...

Excessive rainfall has hit northern growers over the past six months. With water logging across paddocks, growers are at heightened risk of losing nitrogen from denitrification, and it’s an issue GRDC is keen to understand better. Recent research supported by GRDC and led by Senior Research scientist at the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Dr Graeme Schwenke, found that on average...

Long coleoptile wheat is getting a lot of grower interest and some new research been delivering some exciting results. This genetic approach is focused on wheat lines that produce a long first shoot, or a coleoptile, allowing for deeper sowing into soil with residual moisture. After successful paddock-scale trials, the research is helping growers mitigate the risk of poor or failed establishment b...

When it comes to maximising the productivity of irrigated crops, research is proving it isn’t as simple as adding water and lots of nitrogen fertiliser. The Optimising Irrigated Grains project team have two seasons of impressive agronomy data under their belt –helped along by back-to-back mild spring conditions which has seen them achieve some pretty exceptional yields Contact Nick Poole Managing...

A 90-day summer chickpea crop could soon be a reality for the north, giving growers a pulse option to plant in February and harvest in June. Researchers involved in the summer chickpea project, made possible through GRDC investment, have spent the summer assessing the performance of 20 chickpea lines across five different locations. As project lead Dr Angela Pattison from the University of Sydney...

What does it take to optimise mungbean yields in Australia’s northern growing region? It's the focus of a significant GRDC investment underway with Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. In this podcast, project participant Paul McIntosh from Pulse Australia shares the latest agronomy research findings on maximising productivity in mungbean systems. Contact Paul McIntosh Pulse Austral...

Fusarium wilt is significant mungbean disease that can result in up to 80 per cent yield loss. In an effort to arm growers with information about this costly disease, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in Queensland has set up a variety of tolerance trials across the state as part of a wider GRDC and DAF co-investment on optimising mungbean yield in the northern region. In this podc...

The National Oat Breeding Program, backed by joint $5.4 million investment from AgriFutures Australia and GRDC, is being propelled into a new era under the leadership of commercial breeding company, InterGrain. In this podcast, Intergrain’s Dr Allan Rattey shares all the details of the new program and how it will increase the genetic gain per dollar invested. The program is strengthened by signifi...

Most irrigated crop research involves wheat or cotton - but the Optimising Irrigated Grains project is different. It’s focused on the agronomic and amelioration levers for maize, chickpeas, faba beans, canola, barley and durum. The three-year irrigation project has delivered some impressive results so far. Contact Ben Morris FAR Australia Ben. Morris@faraustralia.com.au More information · Optimisi...

Vetch got a bad rap back in the 1990s when a variety that looked like red lentils was substituted for the higher priced commodity and sold into export markets. Since then, this versatile crop has gone from strength to strength, thanks largely to the National Vetch Breeding Program. In this podcast, program leader Stuart Nagel explores the history of vetch and its adaptability in cropping and mixed...

As many southern growers know, good growing conditions for crops also means good ground conditions for slugs. After favourable springs in both 2020 and 2021, slug populations are on the rise and sliding into regions that don’t normally see them. As Dr Michael Nash explains, it’s about being proactive, understanding the risk factors and making informed management choices for the different species....

Dual-purpose crops under irrigation offer an attractive graze and grain return. But what's the best set-up to maximise potential at the paddock level? In this GRDC podcast, we hear from three growers who put forward paddocks in an ambitious effort to answer just that, as part of the Optimising Irrigated Grains investment. Contact Kate Coffey Riverine Plains kate@riverineplains.org.au More informat...

Weed seeds and herbicide resistant genes have the potential to move across farm boundaries and between different land uses. A collaborative project, called area wide management for cropping systems weeds, is taking a unique approach to traditional weed control by collaborating beyond fence lines with varying land users across three pilot regions - the Sunraysia, the Darling Downs and the Murrumbid...

Across Western Australia’s grain growing regions, farmers are reporting increased mouse activity, sparking new concern about risks heading into the 2022 season. To help growers keep ahead of this issue, the CSIRO’s Steve Henry and Dr Wendy Ruscoe delivered GRDC mouse control workshops over 21 locations and 4 days across WA’s grain belt in March, speaking with 245 growers and advisers. In this podc...

The main summer grain crop in the northern grains region, sorghum is ordinarily planted between September and January. But for the past two years, scientists from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation at the University of Queensland have been trailing sowing the summer crop in winter. And while the trials have taken place in cool conditions, the results have proved to be red...

For the first time ever, a national survey on herbicide resistance has been conducted as part of a GRDC investment. As Dr Peter Boutsalis from the University of Adelaide explains, there's good news on the resistance status of annual ryegrass to pre-emergent herbicides. Contact Dr Peter Boutsalis The University of Adelaide peter.boutsalis@adelaide.edu.au More information Annual ryegrass weed manage...

2022 is likely to be a high-risk year for rust, based on the widespread distribution of rust in 2020 and 2021 and the wet summer. Dr Grant Hollaway from Agriculture Victoria and Professor Robert Park from the University of Sydney share all the details on the latest variety disease ratings and recommendations to help growers make informed stripe rust management decisions this season. Contact: Dr Gr...

Perth Update Event 2022 – Dr. Mike Ashworth The cost of constantly evolving weed infestations in Australia is staggering. Growers spend around $2.5 billion every year on the problem, with annual ryegrass the number one ranking Australian cropping system weed. In WA, a series of trials over several years has been studying the interaction between wheat seeding timing and pre emergent herbicides choi...

Grain storage is a long-term investment so it’s important to get it right from the start. Considerations need to include storage design and structural integrity, effective pressure testing and knowing how to seal silos correctly to achieve successful fumigation. Manufactures are a good source of information, but make sure they’re not your onlysource. And that’s where GRDC’sGrain Storage Extension...