GRDC Podcast

It doesn’t get much more marginal than Yilgarn, on the eastern fringe of WA’s wheatbelt, and it takes a certain kind of farmer to remain profitable and up for the challenge of a drying climate. Fourth generation grain farmer Clint Della Bosca has made some strategic decisions in recent years to steer his business in a more positive direction, as the next generation emerges. In this episode of GRDC...

Many growers are currently facing the challenges that come with paddocks that are split. Some nearly ready for harvest, others showing significant regrowth. In this episode, we talk about the ins and outs of managing regrowth in crop during harvest and hear from Matthew Sparke, an agronomist with Sparke Agricultural and Associates based in Victoria, and harvest specialist, Kassie Van Der Westhuize...

Permanent tramlines in a controlled-traffic farming system offer a range of benefits including less soil compaction across the whole paddock, fuel savings, higher yields and better in-crop access. Over time, tramlines can compact deeper than the rest of the paddock and can become rutted, with ridges forming where tyres push soil to the sides of the tramline. In this episode, we’re joined by Bindi...

Much like mechanics might have cars in a less-than-ideal state, agronomists often have the messiest crops, with their attention going to their customers first. Kojonup grain farmer and agronomist Courtney Piesse isn’t too worried though, as his own agronomy business keeps the bills paid and his mind connected to the people and innovation alive in the industry. In this episode of GRDC In Conversati...

Vibrant, colourful blooms and an attractive daisy-like appearance make them a popular choice for gardens and landscaping. But unfortunately, quick growing gazanias are actually a weed, one that's jumped the fence and is now invading the paddocks of grain growers. GRDC has identified gazania as a weed threat and is responding by investing in research to determine its distribution and abundance, rev...

Groundbreaking innovation tends to happen through multidisciplinary approaches and a range of expertise. That statement has never been truer than in a new national project bringing together precision technologies, remote sensing, and modern machine capabilities with knowledge of weed ecology and population dynamics to predict the emergence of weed patches across paddocks. This project is part of t...

Shannen Davies’ idyllic childhood in Geraldton gave her a deep connection to the regions, and an appreciation for the innovation and growth happening in the farming space. Knowing agriculture has an incredible story to tell, Shannen uses her role as Communications Manager at InterGrain to ensure the groundbreaking research and innovation is given the platform it deserves. In this episode of GRDC I...

Have you ever wondered how to collect the perfect sample of cereal rust? This is the episode for you. Listen as Matthew Williams and Margarita Pietilainen from the Australian Cereal Rust survey team at the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding Institute give a detailed description on how to gather and prepare rust samples from the paddock for postage. You’ll also hear from Dr Mumta Chhetri who lea...

This episode explores the rise in fungicide resistance in Australian crops like wheat and barley by discussing work being done at Horsham Smart Farm in the Wimmera region of Victoria. Scientists from the Australian Fungicide Resistance Extension Network (AFREN) including plant pathology research leader Dr Joshua Fanning and research scientist Melissa Cook are intentionally creating conditions to a...

With farming roots deep in the south coast of WA, Julianne Hill’s career path has taken many twists and turns. Supporting farmers to reach their full potential has always been her focus, and that’s helped greatly by the long-term relationships she’s built over many rides in headers and cups of tea around kitchen tables. Having led the GRDC grower networks for more than a decade, she knows the impa...

Think twice when it comes to prophylactic spraying. That's the advice to southern growers this season. When disease pressure is low, reducing spraying means reducing costs. But just how should growers make the often-risky decision not to spray? To find out more we spoke to Nick Poole from FAR Australia and the Australian Fungicide Resistance Network, otherwise known as AFREN.  Contact: Nick Poole ...

Growers in Western Australia need to be on the lookout for barley scald as it is increasing in prevalence and severity, including virulence onto varieties that have previously been rated as resistant. In this podcast we talk to senior research scientists at WA's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Andrea Hills and Dr Kithsiri Jayasena about what growers can do to com...

Fritz Bolten is so dedicated to making agriculture work in Western Australia’s rugged Kimberley region he’s tried growing more than 26 different crops. He owns Oasis Farms, a 573 ha irrigated cropping enterprise in the Ord Valley growing chia, corn, chickpeas, mungbeans, cotton and sorghum forage seed. In this episode of GRDC In Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre chats with Fritz about why he’s tran...

It’s an ever-present challenge for Australian grain growers, but understanding how fungicide resistance develops, and what can be done to manage it, is key to protecting crops, and keeping disease pressure low. In this episode at the Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM) at Curtin University, Dr Nola D’Souza explains how her team detects and tracks fungicide resistance in the lab, the role...

Growers in Western Australia are well aware of the benefits of growing legumes in their rotation, but often have concerns about their reliability and can lack confidence in their production. A GRDC investment with the Grower Group Alliance is aiming to change that, and in a four-part series, we'll be tackling the agronomy, profitability, marketing, and harvesting of growing legumes in WA. In this...

Welcome to GRDC’s National Variety Trials, or NVT, new variety podcast series, where Australia's leading breeding companies share their latest releases for the 2026 growing season. When it comes to choosing the right variety, NVT is the only independent variety information source trusted by Australian growers. In GRDC's 2025 grower survey, nine out of 10 growers accessed NVT information, and 94 pe...

Welcome to GRDC’s National Variety Trials, or NVT new variety podcast series, where Australia's leading breeding companies share their latest releases for the 2026 growing season. When it comes to choosing the right variety, NVT is the only independent variety information source trusted by Australian growers. In GRDC's 2025 grower survey, nine out of 10 growers accessed NVT information, and 94 per...

When it comes to storing fertiliser on-farm, small mistakes can turn into big problems. In this GRDC podcast, Grain Storage Extension Team member, Ben White shares practical advice on the dos and don’ts of fertiliser storage. From choosing quality product and limiting handling, through to managing moisture and avoiding dangerous silo blockages. He also highlights the safety risks growers need to b...

No matter what crop you grow, or livestock you run, the soil beneath your boots is the foundation of your farm's productivity, profitability, and long-term sustainability. And while soil has always been a cornerstone for grain growers, there's never been a consistent way to define, measure, monitor, or report on soil health in Australia. That's why GRDC has invested in the development of a nationa...

Growers around the Eradu area of Western Australia's northern growing region have been deep ripping for many years. Now they're going back and re-ripping for a second, third, fourth, and even fifth time with different machinery as it has progressed over the years. It's all about getting highly alkaline surface soil down deeper in the profile to address subsoil acidity, and at the same time, managi...

Fungicide resistance is a serious threat to cropping. When all available registered fungicides are no longer effective at managing disease, options for widespread disease control become limited, and the result is high yield losses. So, when a gateway mutation, the first step toward fungicide resistance in wheat powdery mildew (WPM), was detected in samples collected in Western Australia, alarm bel...

Don't wait until harvest to consider how you are going to protect your stored grain. That's the message from GRDC's stored grain extension team. When it comes to grain storage, the more you invest in pre-harvest preparation, the better the outcome. This episode features Chris Warrick from the Stored Grain Extension Team who talks about the most important strategies to implement.   Contact: Chris W...

Do you want to nail those snails in the crop? Well, naming those snails is the first step. In this episode, Prue Adams is in York Peninsula, on the snail trail and speaking with Dr Kym Perry, research fellow in entomology at the University of Adelaide. He goes into detail about the four main snail culprits in crops, how to identify, and what to do about them. Contact: Dr Kym Perry The University o...

At just one millimetre long, redlegged earth mites are tiny, but that doesn't stop them from causing significant damage across Australia, especially in regions with cool, wet winters. To find out how growers can best manage this pest – we talk to Dr Paul Umina from Cesar Australia. The project ' Leading practice management of the Redlegged earth mite (RLEM)' is a GRDC investment that is led by Ces...

Oli Le Lievre interviews Andrew and Marie Fowler about their innovative farming practices in Esperance, Western Australia. The Fowlers, who met through Andrew's Nuffield Scholarship, have expanded their family farm significantly. They focus on crop-livestock rotations, emphasizing no-till farming and crop grazing. Andrew discusses their current drainage project, which involves installing tile pipe...