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

In this podcast, we talk about getting the most out of your autumn knockdowns with Mark Congreve.

My co-host Peter Newman also provides an update on the changes to the residue limits of canola treated with haloxyfop.

Spray application links

• Watch Mark Congreve's webinar on glyphosate application here. 
• Read our article discussing spray quality, nozzles and application here. 
• Learn about the expanded options for spot sprayers and access more resources here. 

WeedSmart Week Dubbo

WeedSmart Week Dubbo Tickets are live at early bird prices, and you get a 10% discount if you’re in a grower or agronomist group of 5 or more. 

Join us at WeedSmart Week Dubbo from the 1st to the 3rd of August 2023. WeedSmart Week is designed to engage growers and advisors on the WeedSmart Big 6 messages.

We’re excited to be bringing WeedSmart Week back to New South Wales for our 10th event and to celebrate WeedSmart’s 10th anniversary! Don’t miss the celebration.

The program consists of a Forum day at the Dubbo Regional Theatre & Convention Centre and farm visits in the Western Plains to see how forward-thinking growers are implementing the WeedSmart Big 6 tactics to minimise the impact of herbicide resistance on their businesses. Get your tickets here. 

New content

• Barley grass infestations of cereal crops have increased in southern and western Australia. GRDC partners in these regions tested localised integrated weed management strategies at demonstration sites in key low-rainfall zones. Read the report on our website here. 
• Our webinar recording for 'Beating barley grass despite resistance and dormancy challenges' is now available. You can watch it here. 
• We have a case study on Michael and Marnie Fels, who are based in the Wittenoom Hills of Western Australia. Cultural weed control has been a major focus for Mic and Marnie Fels. The resulting low weed numbers mean they can still use a range of ‘older’ off-patent herbicides, which helps keep herbicide costs to a minimum.
• For Ask and Expert this month, we caught up with Damon Grace, general manager of the COtL Mesonet in South Australia, says specialised mesonets can provide the data for informed decisions surrounding spray drift and other weather-related herbicide efficacy parameters, such as optimal temperature for applying specific herbicides. Learn more 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!

This month on the Regional Update, we head to the Northern Region to chat with Peter Galea, who is a grower just north of Emerald. Peter grows both grains and cotton.

He joins host Jessica Strauss to run through his farming system and what works for him to control weeds.

Upcoming webinar

Register here for our webinar: The fate of herbicide residues in soil – why it matters and what research is telling us

Herbicide breakdown is driven by a range of microbial processes. What does this look like in intensive cropping systems?

Dr Mick Rose from NSW Department of Primary Industries (now Southern Cross University) and his team have been investigating the breakdown of different herbicides across a range of soil types and rainfall zones.

During the fallow or in-crop season, there are often several applications of herbicide, and some residues may still be present on or near the soil surface when it is time to plant the next crop. Particularly in dry years, residues may even carry over from the crop prior to the fallow.

Mick will outline the effect these residues may have on soil microbial activity and on the establishment and growth of crops following the fallow, even after the plant back period.

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!

On this podcast episode, we talk about glyphosate resistant ryegrass with WA grower Greg Curnow and get an overview on the new pre-emergent herbicides available and the stewardship around them from Dr Chris Preston.

WeedSmart Week Dubbo

WeedSmart Week Dubbo Tickets are live at early bird prices, and you get a 10% discount if you’re in a grower or agronomist group of 5 or more.

Join us at WeedSmart Week Dubbo from the 1st to the 3rd of August 2023. WeedSmart Week is designed to engage growers and advisors on the WeedSmart Big 6 messages.

We’re excited to be bringing WeedSmart Week back to New South Wales for our 10th event and to celebrate WeedSmart’s 10th anniversary! Don’t miss the celebration.

The program consists of a Forum Day at the Dubbo Regional Theatre & Convention Centre and farm visits in the Western Plains to see how forward-thinking growers are implementing the WeedSmart Big 6 tactics to minimise the impact of herbicide resistance on their businesses. Get your early bird tickets here. 

Articles

Our content producer, Cindy Benjamin, has written WeedSmart Big 6 on Mid North, Yorke Peninsula and Lower Eyre Peninsula farms an article with our Southern Extension Agronomist Chris Davey on the WeedSmart Big 6 practices being used in the mid north, Yorke and Lower Eyre Peninsula farms. Read it here. 

There is also a write-up on 'Investigating the role of competitive wheat against three northern region weeds: Turnipweed, Mexican poppy and common sowthistle'. This is a summary on the research work done by Professor Bhagirath Chauhan and colleagues. The research work was supported by a grant (project UA00156) from Grains Research Development Corporation. Read it 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!

In this episode of the Regional Update podcast, we head to the Western region to catch up with Frankland Rural Agronomist, Tim Trezise.

Over the last few years, there has been a shift in farming systems, with canola being grown more. Historically it was a break crop, but with increased profit margins, and good growing conditions, more growers are planting it. Tim talks about this evolution in farming systems in the region and the catalysts behind it. 

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, we're focusing on the Northern Region, as we get insights into two of our WeedSmart Week Dalby presenter's farming systems.

We hear from Wayne Ziesemer, whose farm we visited in Bongeen, Queensland. Wayne is passionate about strip tillage, as well as utilising his WEEDIT optical sprayer. You can get a detailed overview of his farming system in this article.

Glenn Milne presented at our Forum Day on Crop rotations and on-farm biosecurity to combat weeds. We  get a snapshot of that talk in this episode.
 
News and events
We're heading to Dubbo, NSW, for our 10th WeedSmart Week on August 1-3.  Early bird tickets will be on sale shortly. You can find out more here.

Articles
Our content producer, Cindy Benjamin, has pulled together a great article on Bec Marshall, who presented at our WeedSmart Week Mildura event last year. 

Increasing herbicide resistance in annual ryegrass has thrown up some challenges for Bec and Ash Marshall on their 3300-hectare farm at Normanville, Victoria, and led to a new approach to their farming system.

Hay, crop competition and a focus on mixing and rotating modes of action at every opportunity are some of the key tactics they’ve taken on board. Read about it here. 

We’ve got a really fascinating Case Study this month, with Simon Burgess from Conara Tasmania. It looks at managing weeds through property development. 

Giving weed management a high priority during significant property developments at Vaucluse, on the South Esk River in Tasmania’s midlands, has paid dividends.

Proterra’s Vaucluse Agricultural Company purchased Vaucluse in 2015 and added neighbouring Glen Esk in 2016, taking the total area to 4400 ha. Between 2016 and 2022, the company undertook a major redevelopment of the mixed farming operation, focusing on new irrigation infrastructure.

Operating partner Simon Burgess says reconfiguring paddocks for pivot and hard hose travelling irrigators brought up many issues related to previous management and land use, not the least of which were weeds. Read about it here. 

Videos
If you couldn’t get to WeedSmart Week Dalby, we have uploaded videos of all of the presentations for you to watch in your own time. You can find the playlist and also a gallery of photos from the event 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!

On this edition of the Regional Update, we catch up with Nutrien Cummins Ag Services Agronomist, Mark Habner. 

Mark is based in the Lower Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. There has been an increase in the adoption of weed seed impact mills, so we chat about what’s happening in that space. 

We also get a general overview of what’s happening in the region at the moment, focusing on upcoming seeding and issues with powdery mildew.

You can follow Mark on Twitter 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!

Welcome to the WeedSmart Podcast! This is our first longer episode back. In this episode, we’ll be getting a recap from our extension agronomists on how harvest went. Greg Condon will give an overview of the Southern Region and Paul McIntosh will share what’s happening in the north. 

My co-host, Peter Newman will give an update on the Western region. 

WeedSmart Week Dubbo

Our next event is in Dubbo! It'll be happening from August 1-3. You can learn more about the event here.  This event is eligible to for funding from a GRDC study tour grant. Find out how to apply here. 

Webinars

If you didn’t get to come to our webinar last year on crop competition with Dr Michael Widderick and WeedSmart Northern Extension Agronomist, Paul McIntosh, the recording is now available on the website. Watch Faba beans pack a punch against sowthistle. 

Articles

Our content producer, Cindy Benjamin, has pulled together a great article on strengthening your pulse phase to combat weeds. This is An Ask an Expert with Dr Jason Brand, who is based in Horsham, working for Agriculture Victoria Research. 

Jason says for pulses to be effective in a weed management program, they need as much attention as other major crops. Without attention to detail, the pulse phase can result in a weed blowout.

Read it here. 

Videos

If you couldn’t get to WeedSmart Week Dalby, in the next few weeks we’ll be editing and uploading the forum day presentations for you to view. In the meantime, you can check out the entire playlist of our forum day presentations from WeedSmart Week Mildura is available to watch online 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!

The WeedSmart Podcast is back for its 8th season! 

In this Regional Update episode, we catch up with our Northern Extension Agronomist, Paul McIntosh, about what to expect at our upcoming event WeedSmart Week Dalby, which is happening on February 7-8.

We also speak with local grower Jordan Anderson.  Jordan farms 2000 hectares with his brother Regan and their wives in and around Theodore. They also have a contract harvest and haulage enterprise which takes them from the Central Highlands of Queensland down to the Riverina in NSW. Jordan will be on our Forum Day panel ‘Diverse rotations to disrupt weed cycles and drive profit’ on February 7. 

Get your ticket to WeedSmart Week Dalby 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!

Welcome to the last WeedSmart Podcast of 2022. On this episode, we catch-up with an expert from each cropping region in the eastern states to get insights on dealing with a wet harvest. 

We hear from Agronomist Peter McKenzie from the Northern Region and our High Rainfall Zone Agronomist Jana Dixon who is based in Clare, South Australia, and Greg Condon, who is our Southern Extension Agronomist based in Junee, NSW.

Wet conditions have resulted in difficult and delayed harvests for many regions. The additional moisture also means more summer weeds. The agronomists provide regional tips on how to best tackle this looming problem.

WeedSmart Week Dalby

WeedSmart Week brings together a wealth of knowledge and experience from local and interstate growers, agronomists, and technology experts – putting the spotlight on herbicide resistance and weed control.

Join us at WeedSmart Week Dalby from the 7th to the 8th of February 2023. WeedSmart Week is designed to engage growers and advisors on the WeedSmart Big 6 messages.

Get your tickets and check out the program here. 

Articles

Our content producer, Cindy Benjamin, has been very busy this month. There's a stack of new articles on the WeedSmart website for you to check out. 

Some highlights include an article which talks about how caution is required when retaining rain-affected seed. Dr Greg Rebetzke from CSIRO provides valuable information on this. Take a read here. 

We also have comprehensive article looking at how the WeedSmart Big 6 can be implemented for Mallee farms in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Our Southern Extension Agronomists Chris Davey and Greg Condon provide insights into this. You can read it here. 

We’ve also got a brand-new farmer Case Study with Michael Nichols from Sisters Creek in Tasmania. 

The Nichols family has a passion for soil health and biodiversity. Their Redbank Farming operation at Sisters Creek, northwest of Launceston, is an intense and multifaceted business.

Michael and his wife Rochelle lease the 385-ha farm from the family trust. The 170 ha of arable land is divided into six 27 ha blocks, on uniform red basalt clay to loam soil and can be irrigated in six days.

Grain production from wheat, barley and canola provides an effective break from intense horticultural cropping. Their six-year crop rotation centres on potatoes for French fries, onions, and poppies in rotation with a wide variety of cereal and horticultural crops. 

Thank you

Thank you for listening in 2022 for our 7th season of the WeedSmart podcast. We're looking forward Season 8 in 2023! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from podcast hosts, Jessica Strauss and Peter Newman, and the whole WeedSmart Team!

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!

On the Regional Update this month, we catch up with Nutrien Cummins Ag Agronomist, Marty Chandler, who is based in the Lower Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.

Marty provides an overview of how harvest is going, particularly with the wet conditions that have been present.

He also provides some management tips on dealing with summer weeds, which will likely be a big issue for many people with high soil moisture. 

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