A grain grower survey conducted across 25 farm businesses in Western Australia’s northern agricultural region found the majority considered their cereal crop yields were being adversely affected by the inefficient use of micronutrients.

In this podcast, grower Dylan Hirsch, based at Latham in WA, talks us through this survey and the broader GRDC investment behind it.

The investment is a two-year project that aims to identify the requirements for, and benefits of, micronutrient foliar application in medium-to-low rainfall areas of WA’s Northern Agricultural Region.

The research project is led by Western Australian grain grower group, the Liebe Group, in partnership with Murdoch University. Mr Hirsch is a member of the research group.

Contact:

Dylan Hirsch

[email protected]

Resources:

Managing micronutrient deficiencies video: https://youtu.be/2CfXK8aJI7I

Micronutrients and trace elements GRDC factsheet: https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/all-publications/factsheets/2013/11/grdc-fs-cropnutrition-micronutrients

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Controlled Traffic Farming is in simple terms driving your heavy vehicles on the same wheel tracks every time you’re in the paddock.

In Australia’s southeastern grain growing region Controlled Traffic Farming has been widely adopted in high and medium rainfall zones but not so much in low rainfall zones.

With investment from the GRDC a research project was undertaken to find out why this farming system was not being adopted in Low Rainfall Zones and if there are benefits in doing so - and there are!

Contact:

Nigel Wilhelm | Farming Systems Leader Affiliate-Senior Lecturer, The University of Adelaide South Australian Research and Development Institute - SARDI | Primary Industries and Regions SA - PIRSA Government of South Australia

DX number P: +61 8 303 9353 |

M: + 61 407 185 501 |

W: www.pir.sa.gov.au/research

Resources: https://grdc.com.au/CTF-in-LRZ

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The GRDC has invested in a two-year project that aims to identify the requirements for, and benefits of, micronutrient foliar application in medium-to-low rainfall areas of WA’s Northern Agricultural Region.

The research project is led by Western Australian grain grower group, the Liebe Group, in partnership with Murdoch University. Murdoch University’s Professor Richard Bell talks us though the research and what it means for growers.

Contact: Richard Bell

[email protected]

Resources:

Managing micronutrient deficiencies video https://youtu.be/2CfXK8aJI7I

Micronutrients and trace elements GRDC factsheet https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/all-publications/factsheets/2013/11/grdc-fs-cropnutrition-micronutrients

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Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda was detected in Australia for the first time in January 2020 and a warning was issued to grain growers to inspect crops for signs of the pest’s presence.

The larval stage of the moth is similar in appearance to many caterpillars already present in agricultural and horticultural crops and can cause severe economical damage, even total crop destruction.

At the 2020 Grains Research Update at Goondiwindi principle entomologist with Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Melina Miles provided background to the Fall Armyworm’s detection in Queensland, explained what damage to look for and described what features identify this caterpillar from the many other caterpillar pests commonly found in Australia.

Contact:

Melina Miles

Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries

203 Tor St, Toowoomba, Qld

[email protected]

Useful Resources:

FAW identification https://bit.ly/3d66KqR

Report sightings to the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline 1800 084 881

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Ironstone gravels are important cropping soils and a better understanding about the mineralogy and physical characteristics of these soils, especially their soil moisture holding capacity and high rates of phosphorus ‘fixation’ is urgently required.

So the GRDC has invested in new research, led by the University of Western Australia, to study and understand these soils to help growers maximise crop productivity from these soils.

Contact:

Dr Matthias Leopold

The University of Western Australia

School of Agriculture and EnvironmentAustralia

+61-(0)8-6488-2769

[email protected]

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GRDC’s investment in faba bean breeding has contributed to the delivery of new and improved Faba bean varieties to grain growers.

In Western Australia’s Esperance Port Zone the high rainfall makes Faba beans a suitable legume to include in crop rotations and WA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development senior research scientist Mark Seymour has been working with growers to make the most of the benefits a pulse in the rotation can bring to cropping systems.

Contact:

Mark Seymour, Senior Research Officer Grain Crop Agronomy Department of Agriculture and Food

t: + 61 (0)8 9083 1143 |

f: + 61 (0)8 9083 11002 |

m: + 61 (0)428 925 002

www.agric.wa.gov.au

Resources:

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/all-publications/publications/2020/2020-western-australian-crop-sowing-guide

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grownotes/crop-agronomy/faba-beans-western

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/groundcover/groundcover-137-november-december-2018/faba-beans-emerging-from-the-shadows-in-wa

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/groundcover/groundcover-137-november-december-2018/new-faba-beans-show-promise-as-hrz-break-crop

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A new research project in the Southern Region will take the principles of Precision Agriculture and apply them to addressing sub-soil constraints.

Simply put, this innovative approach will identify the location of poorly performing soil, potentially reducing the areas within a paddock that need soil amelioration work to be done. Professor Roger Armstrong from Agriculture Victoria explains more on this podcast.

Contact:

Roger Armstrong

[email protected]

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Esperance Port Zone grain grower Neil Wandel has been including faba beans in his crop rotations for 4 decades. While they might not be the highest value legume he could grow, the range of benefits faba beans bring to his paddocks make them a favourite rotation crop.

Contact:

Mark Seymour, Senior Research Officer

Grain Crop Agronomy

Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

PMB 50 | Esperance WA 6450

t: + 61 (0)8 9083 1143 | f: + 61 (0)8 9083 11002 | m: + 61 (0)428 925 002

Useful Resources:

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/all-publications/publications/2020/2020-western-australian-crop-sowing-guide

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grownotes/crop-agronomy/faba-beans-western

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/groundcover/groundcover-137-november-december-2018/faba-beans-emerging-from-the-shadows-in-wa

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/groundcover/groundcover-137-november-december-2018/new-faba-beans-show-promise-as-hrz-break-crop Contact: Neil Wandel [email protected]

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Farmers and their advisers, naturally, are mostly focused on growing better grain – finding those incremental improvements that can often mean so much to the bottom line of farming businesses.

But there are people also working at the other end of the grain trail – a long way from the farm – focused on improving market access and even developing new and innovative grain products to make Australian grain more valuable to customers.

One such story is the work being undertaken by AEGIC – the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre – on making changes to the way Australian malting barley can be used by Chinese beer makers.

Contact:

Mark Tucek

08 6168 9900

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The complexity of agriculture would lead some people to label farming as a form of art. Working with the climate, the landscape, the machinery, the crops, the business … the list goes on.

Somehow synthesising all the elements that go into making a modern farm and coming out the other end with a profitable enterprise. And doing it year after year. It’s no wonder farmers need to be resilient.

In the first of two parts agricultural consultant, Chris Minehan, talks about having a resilient business – what that means and how to achieve it.

Contact:

Chris Minehan

0427 213 660

[email protected]

LInks:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/story/6262851/plan-to-boost-business-resilience/ https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2019/06/building-a-resilient-business

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