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The regional update from the southern growing region with WeedSmart Extension Agronomist Chris Davey, providing you with a dry seeding update for 2025, soil moisture observations and challenges for crop health.  

With negative moisture levels in the soil and limited rainfall over the last 12 months, looking over the spray records will be the key to success to plot the best course of action for the 2025 rotation.  

Knowing the plantback period from last year's herbicide application dates and estimated rainfall requirement to ensure this season's crop health will be a key driver for a successful crop.  

Residual chemicals for particular rotations may present a risk needing to be managed from the outset, especially with limited seed available to provide a better fit to suit the situation.  

Knowing your soil, looking at your records and concentrating on 'how you sow' this year are potential strategies to set up your crop health for winter and spring.  Talk to your local agronomist to check your assumptions.  

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

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Welcome to 2025!

The first Regional Update of 2025 takes us to Lock Valley Farms in South Australia, with Henry Coleman, a mixed operations grower and Youtuber.

Documenting his life on the farm alongside his family, he filled us in on the season just been - though dry, he's remaining optimistic this coming year is going to be a ripper, and has been tackling the ryegrass, brome and legacy weed issues through optimising his rotations.

You can check out Henrys Youtube channel here, Lock Valley Farms.

Latest News and Related Links

Latest Article: Reinventing the pre-seeding double-knock tactic

The double-knockdown tactic is a key component of the WeedSmart Big 6 strategy, which aims to keep weed numbers low, preserve herbicide efficacy and give competitive crops a head start.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

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In this episode of the WeedSmart Podcast, we talk about how weed seeds can adapt their dormancy, discussing the selection pressures, interactions with herbicides and the recommended actions from growers to get ahead.

We also caught up with Pete for a quick recap of the season in the West, after an explosion of weeds thanks to an especially wet winter.

If you're interested in finding out more about today's episode, you can catch Dr Gurjeet Gill via our WeedSmart Learning Hub, and watch or read our related content below.

News and Links

Webinar: Beating barley grass despite resistance and dormancy challenges
With Dr Catherine Borger, and Ben Whisson. Join us to hear about the new challenges, and some research and observations about how we will manage barley grass into the future.

Does delayed sowing help manage weed populations? With Dr Gurjeet Gill
The answer to this question is a very simple ‘no’. Waiting for weed seeds with longer dormancy to germinate before sowing costs yield and weeds often set more seed in late sown crops.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

Got a question or topic you're interested in? Send us a text!

Join WeedSmart Southern Extension Agronomists Jana Freebairn and Chris Davey in discussing the rising resistance to imi’s (imidazolinone) in broadleaf weeds, in 2024 and beyond.

Imi resistance is a growing issue within our cropping systems and is becoming ever more important when considering crop rotation, herbicide selection and yearly environmental pressures.

Jana and Chris share their experiences with imi resistance so far this year in the Southern Region of SA and the Eyre Peninsula, speaking to what they have seen within lentil crops and how the WeedSmart Big 6 can assist.

Delivered by our WeedSmart Extension Agronomists, Header Run videos are created for the on-the-move grower and are suitable for a watch or listen. The video can be found on our website.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

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Ian Pursehouse is our guest for this episode of the Regional Update.

Located in NSW, in West Wyalong, Ian and his family transitioned from a mixed operation to 100% dryland cropping in the late 2010's, and have been learning from every experience since.

Ian has a systems-focused approach, with an emphasis on optimising rotations to not only control weeds - one of the WeedSmart Big 6 principles - but minimise costs across the board. After a less-than-ideal season with low rainfall and frost, his philosophy of "controlling what you can" and strategic investment have ensured they are prepared for whatever comes next.

Links and Further Information:

GrainGrowers Paddock Perspective with Ian Pursehouse (referenced in Podcast)

The WeedSmart Big 6: Rotate Crops and Pastures                                                                    Weeds love predictable rotations. They find it easy to evolve resistance to herbicides when they are used in a predictable manner. If we mix it up a bit, the weeds get confused and find it harder to adapt to the farming system.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

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This Regional Update Podcast episode, we're joined by grower Stuart Vlahov from Western Australia.

Stu is a grower in Ellendale, WA, around 35kms south-east of Geraldton near Walkaway, who has recently been using two drones to spray crops within his mixed farming operation spanning 3500ha.

With bogged crops and wild radish flourishing, Stu is employing the two DJI drones for weed control and fertiliser application. Talking with us about the drone's short down time, price, set-up and future applications, Stu is keen to see the space change and evolve.

NEWS and LINKS

Ask an Expert Article: Can drones provide early warning of herbicide resistance?

Tristan Steventon, StevTech drone and data specialist says ultra-high-resolution cameras on drones provide a practical way to rapidly and remotely collect weed data for spray jobs and to monitor changes over time.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

Got a question or topic you're interested in? Send us a text!

In this episode of the WeedSmart Podcast, we heard from Josh Hollitt, an Independant Agronomist located in the Eyre Peninsula, who is presenting at the upcoming WeedSmart Week in Port Lincoln.

Speaking on summer weed control strategies, Josh has over a decade of experience to share and is looking forward to hearing from other growers and agronomists in the region.

We also heard from co-host Pete Newman about his panel, focusing on HWSC and challenges growers have faced. If you're attending WeedSmart Week, take a listen to his tips and tricks to get the most out of the event!

If you're looking to secure tickets to WeedSmart Week, please find them here! We will also be recording the speaker presentations, so if you can't make it, make sure you stay tuned into our Twitter, @WeedSmartAU, or sign up for our Newsletter here to get our content in one place!

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

Got a question or topic you're interested in? Send us a text!

This week on the Regional Update, we are joined by former agronomist and grower Vicky French.

With nearly 10 years of experience working for Elders as an agronomist, and now a grower with her husband in Derrinallum,  Victoria, Vicky French has a wealth of knowledge to share - and will be doing so at WeedSmart Week this July!

Vicky will be speaking about glyphosate resistance and the strategies they have implemented to control ryegrass and wild radish, and gave us a small look into that talk on this episode.

If you're interested in hearing grower experiences like Vicky's, come along to WeedSmart Week, July 29-30, at Port Lincoln, SA. Early bird tickets are available until June 28! Grab yours here.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

Got a question or topic you're interested in? Send us a text!

Joining us on this extra-long episode of the WeedSmart Podcast was Mike Bell, who shared his extensive experience of soil nutrition and more recent work into P&K deep placement in the northern regions.

We also talked with Kurt Mayne, a grower from Rolleston, QLD, who has been implementing a deep placement regime into his operations, and heard about his recent experience with milk thistle.

NEWS and LINKS
Crop Competition:
Improving soil health gives the crop the best chance at competing against weeds. Learn all about crop competition with our free online course via our Learning Hub, Crop Competition 101.

WeedSmart Week:
Get tickets to the annual WeedSmart Week event! Held in Port Lincoln on July 29-30, the latest knowledge and advice around the WeedSmart Big 6 will be shared, with a focus on experiences from the Eyre Peninsula and southern region.

GRDC Deep placement update paper:
Take a read of Mikes’ paper on deep P&K placement, or the fact sheet available here.

Kurt Mayne's WeedSmart Feature:
Kurt and his family operate a 6000 ha mixed farming operation of dryland grain production and backgrounding steers for feedlots at ‘Broken Plains’, 13 km east of Rolleston in Central Queensland. 

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

Got a question or topic you're interested in? Send us a text!

This week on the Regional Update, we are joined by agronomist Angus Dalgliesh.

Angus is an agronomist with Nutrien Ag Solutions who has recently moved from Dalby to Cloncurry in north-west Queensland, taking on the challenge and opportunity in the burgeoning cropping region. 

Though weeds aren't a problem at this early stage, growers are finding an overabundance of rats impacting their systems, to which Angus is keen to find a solution for.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.