Svetlana Micic has spent the past 22 years as an entomologist with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, where she has been an exceptional communicator of GRDC-invested project work around insect pest monitoring, surveillance and integrated pest

That dedication to ensuring information is shared with those who need it most has led her to be highly respected by growers, agronomists and consultants.

It’s also the reason why she was named GRDC’s 2025 Seed of Light recipient for the West at the Grains Research Updates in Perth.

Contact:

Svetlana Micic

DPIRD

[email protected]

More information:    

Western Seed of Light, Emerging Leader announced at GRDC Update

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An ambitious GRDC investment, being led by the University of Adelaide, is working to develop new high yielding soybean varieties for a broader range of growing environments.

Worth $6 million, this significant investment builds on the achievements of past breeding programs and will accelerate the delivery of new varieties to growers by ‘speed breeding’ - harnessing new technology to improve germplasm evaluation and other key breeding processes.

In this podcast, we hear from lead breeder University of Adelaide, Dr Anh Pham, as well as grower and Soybean Industry Development Officer at Soy Australia, Judy Plath.

The University of Adelaide is keen to hear from growers about the problems they are facing so please contact Dr Anh Pham directly by emailing [email protected]⁠

Contact

Dr Anh Pham

Soybean breeder

The University of Adelaide

⁠[email protected]⁠

Judy Plath

Soybean Industry Development Officer

Soy Australia

⁠[email protected]⁠

More information

GRDC invests $3 million in soybean breeding

Visit https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/grdc/announcements/grdc-invests-$3-million-in-soybean-breeding for more info.

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Tom Longmire from Beaumont, Western Australia, has dedicated himself to driving sustainability and efficiency on the family farm through innovation. Through combining his learnings from Marcus Oldham College and his experience working farms across Australia, he is discovering exactly how cutting-edge technology and data-driven decision-making can improve the farm for years to come.

In this episode of GRDC in Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre chats with Tom about his passion for precision agriculture and emerging technologies, which have positioned him at the forefront of modern farming. He delves into how his family has been integrating autonomous farming equipment and variable rate fertilization to optimize productivity. He also discusses the challenges and opportunities of adopting new technologies and how

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

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Each year, the GRDC Seed of Light Award recognises the outstanding contribution, dedication, and commitment of individuals to communicating research outcomes to people working in the grains industry.

At the Goondiwindi GRDC Grains Research Update event in March 2025, Mark Congreve was presented with the prestigious award for his valuable work in the agricultural extension space. Mark is a senior consultant at Independent Consultants Australia Network (ICAN) and in this podcast he shares his thoughts on the changing landscape of agricultural extension, and what the Seed of Light award recognition means to him.

Contact

Mark Congreve

Senior Consultant, ICAN

[email protected]

More information

Industry consultant honoured with GRDC award

Cam Nicholson: 2025 Seed of Light award – South

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Fusarium crown rot in cereals is often associated with a tough finish, but the characteristic whiteheads are far from the full picture. It’s a significant disease with hidden yield impacts even in a good year, so pro-active management at pre-sowing is a must. 

In this podcast, senior researcher with NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Dr Steven Simpfendorfer shares the latest research and advice to reduce disease impacts. Then, Riverine Plain’s Kate Coffey shares why the Riverine Plain’s area is surprisingly susceptible to the disease and local grower, Lee Menhenett, shares his experience managing the disease on-farm.

Contact 

Dr Steven Simpfendorfer 

Senior researcher, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development 

[email protected] 

Kate Coffey 

Senior project manager, Riverine Plains 

[email protected]  

More information 

GRDC investment code 

RPI2309-002SAX 

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New precision weed management technologies are helping Australian grain growers to more effectively target weeds and ultimately reduce their total herbicide costs. 

Optical sensors as well as ‘remote and sensor’ weed mapping systems are becoming more widely available, and that’s why GRDC is investing in a series of case studies to explore the benefits and costs related to these technologies. 

In this podcast we look at a new system developed out of necessity by the Single family in New South Wales and we also hear from Wade Bistrup, a Queensland grower who has been experimenting with this technology. 

Watch the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ3hyVg3Fv0 

Contact:

Ben Single, Single Ag  

[email protected] 

More  Information:

Single Ag  

Project Code: SRE2310-001SAX 

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This is a test only.

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The National Variety Trials (NVT) Program was established by GRDC in 2005 and since then it has evolved into the largest coordinated variety trial network in the world. Each year, more than 640 trials are conducted across over 300 locations nationwide, encompassing 10 different crop species. 

This year marks the 20-year anniversary of NVT – a great time to reflect on the evolution and success of the program. In this podcast we speak to prominent plant breeder and former GRDC managing director, Dr Steve Jefferies about the value of the NVT to growers and breeding companies. 

Contact

[email protected] 

More  Information

GroundCover Supplement - Celebrating 20 years of NVT

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Victorian agricultural consultant, Cam Nicholson, has had a career spanning more than four decades – and over the years he’s learned a lot but mostly he spends his time passing on his knowledge to others. 

And that’s one of the reasons Cam has received this year’s GRDC “Seed of Light Award” in the south, which recognises the outstanding contribution, dedication and commitment of individuals to communicating research outcomes to people working in the grains industry. We caught up with Cam to discuss the importance of head, heart and gut when it comes to decision making and see if he has any tips or advice for up-and-coming agronomists. 

Contact

Cam Nicholson 

[email protected] 

0417 311 098 

More Information

Victorian agronomist and scientist each win grains award

GRDC awards

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Rhizoctonia is an important disease of cereals in southern and western growing regions, especially in low rainfall areas. Losses have been estimated at about $15 per hectare for wheat and $12 per hectare for barley in the southern region. 

Unfortunately, fungicide control of rhizoctonia has proven to be difficult, often with mixed results with seed treatments.  

In February 2025, we sat down with Blake Gontar from the South Australian Research and Development Institute to talk about a previous GRDC investment that showed streaming fungicide above and below the seed was an effective way to protect cereals from rhizoctonia and get the greatest yield responses. 

Contact

Blake Gontar, SARDI 

[email protected]

More information

Fungicide control of Rhizoctonia 

South Australian cereal root disease update

Project Code

DAS00125

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