GRDC’s Farm Business Updates play a big role in updating growers about farm management systems, including self-development. Dr Jane Foster teaches emotional resilience and has been a presenter at this year’s events. In this podcast Dr Foster discusses the importance of proactive communication skills on-farm to avoid conflict and keep everyone safe.

Contact:         

Dr Jane Foster

Emotional Resilience Training

[email protected]

0425 718 632

More Information:   

Mental health resources

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/resources/mental-health

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/farm-business/business-management/a-full-wellbeing-silo-key-to-mental-health

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/industry-insights/boundaries-key-to-preserving-mental-health,-expert-says

https://grdc.com.au/news-and-media/audio/podcast/2025/skills-for-agronomists-to-handle-tough-conversations

https://grdc.com.au/news-and-media/audio/podcast/2024/finding-your-feet-as-an-agronomist

https://grdc.com.au/news-and-media/audio/podcast/2023/talking-mental-health-in-a-tough-year

The Farm business update in February:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/grdc/events/focus-on-farm-business-a-priority-this-february

Upcoming Farm Business updates and GRDC events:

https://grdc.com.au/events/list

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Matthew Howell is an agronomist, grower and regional advocate based in South Australia’s Upper South East. Over the past two decades, he has worked alongside growers through a major shift from mixed farming to large-scale continuous cropping, driven by rainfall, soil development and opportunity. In this conversation, Matt reflects on his journey from Cummins on the Eyre Peninsula to building a life and career in Meningie, sharing what it’s been like to work in a rapidly changing region where former dairy country has been converted to broadacre cropping and growers have had to adapt quickly.

Matt speaks to the value of being actively involved through agronomy, mentoring, trials and advocacy. He explores what real practice change looks like, how tough seasons sharpen learning, and why regional leadership matters, highlighting the balance between profitability and sustainability and the need for stronger support in precision ag, data and training.

This episode explores:

Watch this episode as a video on YouTube https://youtu.be/_rNR6XSV2u8

More information

GRDC in Conversation is a limited series GRDC Podcast. It features in-depth interviews with growers and other experts in the grains industry who share their expertise, knowledge and experiences by exploring their personal stories, history, influences and motivations. The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of GRDC, the interviewees’ employer, institution or other associated parties.

More info: https://grdc.com.au

Subscribe: https://grdc.com.au/grdc-subscriptions

For LIVE Events go to https://grdc.com.au/events/list

Get the latest from GroundCover: https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/

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Controlling disease in crops has traditionally been the ultimate game of chance. However, work being done in faba and broad bean crops in South Australia has taken some of the risk out of the equation. In this episode, Max Bloomfield, a research manager at Field Applied Research Australia or FAR Australia explores strategies to manage major foliar and soil-borne

Contact:           

Max Bloomfield

FAR Australia

[email protected]

More Information:    

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/all-publications/nvt-crop-sowing-guides/sa-crop-sowing-guide

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/legume-challenges-addressed

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/grain-legumes-initiative-aims-to-close-the-yield-gap-in-sa

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/past-update-proceedings/2026/grdc-grains-research-update-bendigo-2026

Project Code:   

UOA2105-013RTX

https://grdc.com.au/grdc-investments/investments/investment?code=UOA2105-013RTX

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Disease prevention is pivotal in any cereal crop. This episode explores recognising and preventing diseases in lentils with research scientist Mohsen Khani from the South Australian Research and Development Institute. Lentils are often favoured because of their profitability, but diseases can undo a season's work in a matter of weeks if not kept in check. GRDC has invested in a multi -year grain legume project in South Australia, with part of that study focused on what to look for and how seasons affect disease development and progress.

The SA Grain Legume project: Development and extension to close the economic yield gap and maximise farming systems benefits from grain legume production in South Australia is led by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the research division of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, alongside a number of project partners.

Contact:   

Mohsen Khani

South Australian Research and Development Institute

[email protected]

More Information:  

https://grdc.com.au/search?query=%E2%80%AFUOA2105-013RTX&collection=grdc%7Esp-grdc&profile=grdc-global&form=web

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/legume-challenges-addressed

Project Investment Code:        

UOA2105-013RTX

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In this episode, agronomist Sam Trengove, from Trengove Consulting, and lentil farmer Tim Millard talk about one of the greatest challenges for legume growers - lentil pod loss. Lentil pod loss can be devastating to a crop. In some instances, farmers can lose up to 60 percent and the main cause, wind, is out of their hands to control. GRDC has invested in a multi-year grain legume project in South Australia, in part looking at how to prevent such dramatic lentil seed pod losses between maturity and harvest. While researchers found no silver bullets, they emphasise controlling what you can and using harvest timing, machinery setup, and awareness of conditions to capture as much of the crop as possible, while research continues to search for longer term solutions.  

In addition to the comments within this episode, agronomist Sam Trengove emphasises the question of what growers can do now in terms of timing of desiccation and timeliness of harvest with respect to wind events. He states that growers with large programs should stagger their desiccation times in line with their harvest capacity, so that they don't have all their lentil crop ready to harvest on the same day when it will take them 10 days to harvest. For example, if they have capacity to harvest 100ha of lentil per day and 1000ha of lentils to harvest, then staggering the desiccation time over a 10-day period may help to reduce the risks of having the whole crop ready and vulnerable if it is all sprayed within a couple days. A range of sowing dates and/or mix of variety maturities may also help to stagger the desiccation timing.  

The South Australian Grain Legume Project, is a joint initiative between South Australian Research and Development Institute, or SARDI and GRDC, led by the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA). 

Contact: Sam Trengove  

Trengove Consulting Pty Ltd  

[email protected] 

Tim Millard 

Grower in Goalpara, South Australia 

[email protected]  

More  Information:  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/fine-tuning-legume-agronomy-to-benefit-sa-growers  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/closing-the-economic-yield-gap  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/weeds-pests-diseases/chemical-regulation/herbicide-tolerant-lentils-registration-and-impacts  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/legume-challenges-addressed  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/less-haste,-more-speed-for-lentil-desiccation-timing    

Project Code: UOA2105-013RTX  

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James Hillcoat didn’t grow up on a farm. His journey began cycling five miles to a Lincolnshire farm in England, evolved through painting houses and teaching sailing in France, and eventually led him to Australian grain consulting via Marcus Oldham.

Today, as a Partner at Pinion Advisory, his work sits at the intersection of profit, people and perspective. In this conversation, James shares what truly drives high-performing farm businesses, why communication is the hidden lever in family enterprises, and how emotion, succession and robotics will shape the next era of Australian grain.

This episode explores:

●    What separates the top 20% of grain businesses

●    Why technical skill is only 30% of modern consulting

●    Emotion in family farming – and how to harness it productively

●    Lessons from the Country Fire Service on leadership under pressure

●    The succession challenge facing Australian agriculture

●    What “Consultant 3.0” looks like

More information

James Hillocat, Pinion Advisory: https://www.pinionadvisory.com/

https://grdc.com.au/events/past-events/2025/03/grdc-farm-business-update,-online-should-i-own-trucks-assessing-the-commercial-benefit

GRC in Conversation is a limited series GRDC Podcast. It features in-depth interviews with growers and other experts in the grains industry who share their expertise, knowledge and experiences by exploring their personal stories, history, influences and motivations. The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of GRDC, the interviewees’ employer, institution or other associated parties.

GRDC Project Code

HAG2507-001SAX

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This episode of GRDC’s Grain Automate series speaks with Tim Neale, an expert agronomist and the director of Data Farming, a precision farming company based out of Toowoomba in southern Queensland. Tim works to help the industry get smarter about how to work with technology and managing the influx of automation available now and into the future. Agronomists can spend up to 75 per cent of their time driving, which can be frustrating and unproductive, prompting many of them to look at alternative monitoring options. But Tim is quick to reiterate the autonomous solutions aren't about replacing boots on the ground.

Contact:      

Tim Neale

Data Farming 

[email protected]

More Information:

-   https://grdc.com.au/research/partnerships-and-initiatives/major-initiatives/grain-automate

-   Autonomy proves a game changer | GroundCover

-   Expo steps gowers nearer to tomorrow | GroundCover

-   https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/precision-agriculture-and-machinery/are-you-ready-for-autonomy

-   https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/precision-agriculture-and-machinery/partnerships-and-vision-are-key-to-an-autonomous-future                     

Project Code:  

SPA2404-002RTX

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Ed Scott grew up on a mixed farming property on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, but his path into agriculture wasn’t a straight line. What began with an interest in animal health and pasture production soon led him deeper into the soil beneath it all. Today, Ed works at the intersection of soils, precision agriculture, automation and sustainability, helping growers better understand what’s happening below the surface and how to turn that knowledge into smarter decisions on the farm.

In this conversation, Ed shares how the grains industry has evolved from treating soil as something to work around to seeing it as one of the biggest untapped opportunities in modern farming. He unpacks why variable rate adoption is still slower than expected, how harvest yield and protein data can sharpen nitrogen decisions, and why the next big gains may come from making better use of the data growers already collect.

This episode explores:

Watch this episode as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/e1xdGTy2Xsw

More information:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/precision-agriculture-and-machinery/expo-steps-growers-nearer-to-tomorrow

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2024/07/leveraging-protein-for-profitability

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2025/02/dry-sowing-in-the-mid-north-lessons-from-the-dry-2024-season

GRDC in Conversation is a limited series GRDC Podcast. It features in-depth interviews with growers and other experts in the grains industry who share their expertise, knowledge and experiences by exploring their personal stories, history, influences and motivations. The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of GRDC, the interviewees’ employer, institution or other associated parties.

GRDC Project Code:

HAG2507-001SAX

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Legume marketing has long been considered a chicken and egg scenario. What comes first? The market or the grower collaborations? This episode explores this concept and how growers can collaborate to gain market access. A GRDC investment with the Grower Group Alliance is aiming to increase grower confidence in using legumes in Western Australia. This episode is part of a four-part series investigating the agronomy, profitability, marketing and harvesting of various legume crops. In this instalment, we’ll hear how to market legume crops with John Orr from Premium Grain Handlers based at Fremantle, Erin Cahill a grower and AgVivo agronomist in Moora WA, and Timm House a grower in Gnowangerup WA.

Contact: 

John Orr

Manager, Premium Grain Handlers

[email protected]

Erin Cahill

Grower & AgVivo agronomist, Moora, Western Australia

[email protected]

Timm House

Grower, Gnowangerup, Western Australia

[email protected]

More Information:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/profitable-legumes-becoming-a-reality)

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/shift-in-planting-time-offers-new-market-opportunity    

Project Code:

GGA2110-002SAX

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James Walter is the bioinformatics lead at Australian Grain Technologies (AGT), working at the intersection of genetics, data science and plant breeding. His role focuses on turning vast amounts of genomic and field data into practical insights that help breeders make better decisions and ultimately deliver improved crop varieties to growers.

In this episode, James takes us behind the scenes of the plant breeding pipeline, unpacking the journey from initial crosses in the glasshouse through to years of field trials, quality testing and eventual commercial release. He explains how modern breeding balances resilience and performance, why stability across seasons is critical, and how the explosion of data and new technologies is reshaping how varieties are developed.

This episode explores:

●  James’ pathway from agricultural science into bioinformatics and plant breeding

●   What a role in genomics and data science looks like in agriculture

●   How plant breeding programs work from glasshouse to commercial release

●  Why it takes 8–10 years to develop a new crop variety

●   The importance of stability versus peak performance in different seasons

●  How genetics and field data are combined to guide breeding decisions

● The role of large-scale field trials across multiple environments

●   How new technologies, AI and data are transforming plant breeding

●   The sheer scale of data involved in modern breeding programs

●   Career opportunities in agriculture beyond traditional farm roles

Watch this episode as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hEJmhVcDmtg

More information:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/climate/global-search-helps-heat-tolerance-gains-to-be-made-in-wheat

https://www.agtbreeding.com.au/

GRDC in Conversation is a limited series GRDC Podcast. It features in-depth interviews with growers and other experts in the grains industry who share their expertise, knowledge and experiences by exploring their personal stories, history, influences and motivations. The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of GRDC, the interviewees’ employer, institution or other associated parties.

GRDC Project Code:

HAG2507-001SAX

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