GRDC Podcast

For many farmers, it’s been a tight finish to the season due to dry conditions or frost. This makes preparing the books and finances for the year ahead more challenging, but as we’ll explore in this podcast, help is available and there are practical steps you can take to get ahead. Tony Hudson is the Director and Founder of Hudson Facilitation. A key part of his business is private financial consulting for farmers across Australia and he has practical advice to share on forward planning with reduced seasonal returns.  Download the transcript for this episode. Contact: Tony Hudson  tony@hudsonfacilitation.com.au More  Information: ‘Planning forward on reduced seasonal returns’ webinar, GRDC Farm Business Update online  Project Code: ORM2401-001SAX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More about this podcast  In this episode of GRDC In Conversation, we’re joined by Brianna Peake, Chief Stakeholder Relations Sustainability and Strategy Officer at CBH Group. Brianna’s journey of growing up in Western Australia, shapes how she approaches sustainability today in one of nation’s largest agricultural cooperatives. Enriched with travel and a diverse set of experiences she shares her leadership style and how it aims to address the rapid needs of the industry. We explore her thoughts on women in leadership, the role of cooperatives in sustainability, and the importance of professionals in ag.  Download the transcript for this episode  Watch this episode as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/f3gbskXMRZU More information CBH Group  Australian Rural Leadership Program  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: HAG2308-001SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a new variety of lentil came out that was a bit more boron tolerant, Scott Wandel thought it was time to give the legume another go. Farming at Mount Ridley, near Grass Patch in WA, Scott increased the hectares planted to lentils quickly after their introduction.  As a member of SEPWA, the South East Premium Wheatgrowers Association, Scott is a part of the cohort of 'Legume Leaders' that has been established by the Grower Group Alliance, with investment from GRDC.  In this episode, Scott tells us how a trip to Horsham in Victoria inspired him to give lentils a go.  Download the transcript for this episode. Contact:  Scott Wandel  Grower  scott@ridleyplains.com  More information:  Closing the economic yield gap of grain legumes in WA  Legume Leader bios and contact details  Project Code:  GGA2110-002SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More about this podcast  In this episode, we sit down with Bec Kelly, a third-generation farmer from Mingenew, WA, who shares her journey from global adventurer to dedicated farmer. After traveling through America, South America, and Europe, Bec returned to the family farm in 2018, where she has since embraced the highs and lows of agriculture.   She talks about the unpredictability of farming, her passion for wheat, canola, and lupin production, and the importance of surrounding herself with the right team of advisors. As a recent Nuffield Scholar, Bec has also explored how farmers can better negotiate with energy companies, and she offers insights from her global research on the subject. If you're curious about what it’s like to take over a family farm and the role of innovation in modern agriculture, this episode will inspire and inform.  Download the transcript for this episode  Watch this episode as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IhKiHATX7DY  More information  Nuffield Australia  Grains Research & Development Corporation  Mingenew Irwin Group 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: HAG2308-001SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While new innovations in farming technology and machinery offer growers incredible increases to productivity and profitability, many of these innovations are released without growers having any hands-on experience with how they work or understanding how they can add value to their farming systems.  That’s why a GRDC National Grower Network investment for Live Machinery Demo Days was created. The first event was hosted the Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association (WANTFA) at Cunderdin, with a focus on precision agriculture and variable rate technology.  In this episode, we’re joined by David Minkey from WANTFA and Frankland River grower Ben Beech to find out more about the benefits of hands-on opportunities and practical demonstrations for growers.  Download the transcript for this episode. Contact:  David Minkey  Executive Director, WANTFA  david.minkey@wantfa.com.au  More information:  WANTFA and GRDC's Cunderdin demo day a huge hit with Wheatbelt growers Hands-on with the latest farm machinery innovations Project Code:  WAN2310-001SAX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More about this podcast  In this episode of the GRDC In Conversation podcast, Oli Le Lievre sits down with Ben White, a highly respected agricultural engineer, researcher, and extension specialist. Ben is known for his work at the Kondinin Group, where he has spent over 20 years testing agricultural machinery, developing cutting-edge research, and providing farmers with practical solutions to improve their operations. The conversation delves into Ben's early life growing up on a sheep and cattle farm, his passion for machinery, and how he transitioned into the grains industry.  Ben talks about his work across a variety of fields, including grain storage, harvester setup, and mobile communications testing. He also shares stories about hands-on research, such as developing glow-in-the-dark bait for mouse baiting trials and reflects on the importance of communication and collaboration in translating complex research into practical advice for farmers. From mobile phone testing to preventing harvester fires, Ben’s work has had a broad and lasting impact on Australian agriculture.  Download the transcript for this episode  Watch this episode as a video on YouTube  More information  Kondinin Group – Farming Ahead GRDC Harvester Setup Guide GRDC Stored Grain Information Hub or call 1800 WEEVIL 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: HAG2308-001SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long coleoptile wheat varieties have the potential to deliver increased yield and therefore profit to Australian growers. That’s why GRDC is investing in extensive research to future proof the crop.  Steve Simpfendorfer from the NSW Department of Primary Industries is part of the nationwide project team, and his area of specialty is looking at how disease interacts with deep sowing.  This four-year long coleoptile wheat project, made possible with GRDC investment, is being led by CSIRO along with research partners including the University of Melbourne, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, SLR Agriculture, DPIRD, the University of South Australia, and EPAG research.  Download the transcript for this episode. Contact:  Dr Steve Simpfendorfer  steven.simpfendorfer@dpi.nsw.gov.au More information: GRDC announces $12.7M project for long coleoptile wheat GRDC project code: CSP2212-007RTX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GRDC’s National Variety Trials (NVT) new Variety Podcast series gives breeding companies the microphone to share their new releases for the 2025 growing season.  This podcast focuses on lentil, field pea and lupin – there are separate podcasts in this four-part series for barley, canola, oats, sorghum and wheat.  The varieties mentioned in this podcast have all been trialled through NVT – a program to help Australian grain growers make informed varietal decisions by providing comparative information on topics like yield performance, disease resistance ratings and grain quality.  Download the transcript for this episode. More information:  Visit the NVT website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Yuna, in Western Australia’s northern growing region, Jason Batten started growing vetch about three years ago, and so far, he’s been impressed with how well the crop grows in his corner of the world.  As a member of the Yuna Farm Improvement Group, Jason is a part of the cohort of 'Legume Leaders' that has been established by the Grower Group Alliance, with investment from GRDC.  In this episode, Jason tells us about how experimenting with serradella led him to growing vetch and how its stacks up in terms of productivity and profitability.  Download the transcript for this episode. Contact:  Neil Smith  Grower  jjnjbatten@bigpond.com  More information:  Closing the economic yield gap of grain legumes in WA  Legume Leader bios and contact details  Project Codes:  GGA2110-002SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GRDC’s National Variety Trials (NVT) new Variety Podcast series gives breeding companies the microphone to share their new releases for the 2025 growing season.  This podcast focuses on wheat – there are separate podcasts in this four-part series for barley, canola, field pea, lentil, lupin, oats and sorghum.  The varieties mentioned in this podcast have all been trialled through NVT – a program to help Australian grain growers make informed varietal decisions by providing comparative information on topics like yield performance, disease resistance ratings and grain quality.  Download the transcript for this episode. More information: Visit the NVT website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 2013, an unidentified weevil has been reported by growers and advisers to be repeatedly causing damage to canola crops in localised areas of Dongara and Mingenew in WA's northern grain growing region.  As part of a two-year GRDC investment, the critter was recently scientifically identified and described as a new pest weevil species of unknown origin, representing a new genus of broad-nose weevil. In this podcast, Christiaan Valentine from WA's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development shares the latest insight on its distribution and management.  Download the transcript for this episode. Contact: Christiaan Valentine  DPIRD, Research Scientist  Christiaan.Valentine@dpird.wa.gov.au More information: Science pins elusive Dongara weevil GRDC investment code: DAW2212-001RTX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GRDC’s National Variety Trials (NVT) new Variety Podcast series gives breeding companies the microphone to share their new releases for the 2025 growing season.  This podcast focuses on canola – there are separate podcasts in this four-part series for barley, field pea, lentil, lupin, oats, sorghum and wheat.  The varieties mentioned in this podcast have all been trialled through NVT – a program to help Australian grain growers make informed varietal decisions by providing comparative information on topics like yield performance, disease resistance ratings and grain quality.  Download the transcript for this episode. More Information: Visit the NVT website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Assisting growers to work smarter with their inputs to increase profitability is the focus of many GRDC investments. Recently, Australian maize growers have found there's a peak in the nitrogen response curve, beyond which there is no measurable effect on yield. Meantime, irrigation discussion groups expanded into paddock scale demonstration, which provided growers with the opportunity to further investigate key management options. This podcast explores the outcomes of those recent trials into irrigated grains, specifically maize.  Download the transcript for this episode. Contact: Melinda Mann Events and Communications Irrigation Farmers Network mel@irrigationfn.com.au More Information: Grain maize good management guide Project Investment Code: ICF2308-001SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GRDC’s National Variety Trials (NVT) new Variety Podcast series gives breeding companies the microphone to share their new releases for the 2025 growing season.  This podcast focuses on sorghum, barley and oats – there are separate podcasts in this four-part series for canola, field pea, lentil, lupin and wheat.  The varieties mentioned in this podcast have all been trialled through NVT – a program to help Australian grain growers make informed varietal decisions by providing comparative information on topics like yield performance, disease resistance ratings and grain quality.  Download the transcript for this episode. More information: Visit the NVT website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Widespread frosts on top of a very dry season mean that southern growers are having to make some tough decisions. We speak to consulting agronomist, Martin Culbert, who is traveling across the southern region and helping growers with their post frost decision making. Martin advice is to approach the situation logically, and to get out there and conduct an assessment of the entire paddock in order to get a grasp of where the worst impact is – before making a salvage decision. There may be areas within the paddock that growers can portion out - to get next year's seed. Martin has also developed a spreadsheet/in-paddock calculator that just requires time and some basic maths to conduct. Growers can use it to make a data based decision - as to what their next step is.  Download the transcript for this episode. Contact: Martin Colbert, Consulting Agronomist martincolbert@yahoo.com.au More  Information: Frost Management Resources Mallee Sustainable Farming - Better Frost Decisions webinar (25/9/2024) IFarmWell   LifeLine - 13 11 44 (available 24 hours/ 7 days a week) Project Investment Codes: AIP2404-001RTX, FAR2204-001RTX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Belinda Cay.  Belinda Cay is an experienced agricultural communicator. Across her career she has had a breadth of experience that has uniquely put her in the position to “put others in the spotlight” in a way that has supported them and in turn the broader agricultural industry.  She grew up on a family farm and was influenced by her father, who was a plant breeder. Belinda's early connections to agriculture included riding bikes around the Department of Agriculture and helping with seeding. With a passion and interest in science, she pursued further education and discovered a passion for science communication, which led her to work at the famous Questacon in Canberra producing a kids science show.   In being awarded a GRDC Seed of Light Award, GRDC Southern Panel Chair and Victorian grain grower Andrew Russell said, “Ms Cay is an outstanding advocate for the grains industry, making research and development accessible and relatable to growers through her expert communications – ensuring that growers are engaged and can reap the benefits”.  Download the transcript for this episode  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.  GRDC Project Code: HAG2308-001SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blackleg is the most serious disease in Australian canola, and while fungicides are commonly used to help manage this disease, there are concerns that an overreliance on fungicides could encourage fungicide resistance. In order to explore this further, GRDC is making a significant investment into fungicide resistant management strategies in blackleg in canola. Extensive research is taking place at the Grains Innovation Park in Horsham in Victoria's Wimmera region. We catch up with Dr Angela van de Wouw who is one of Australia's leading researchers into blackleg in canola and PhD student Alec McCallum, whose research is examining the emergence and management of fungicide resistance to blackleg. Download the transcript for this episode Contact: Angela van de Wouw , University of Melbourne apvdw2@unimelb.edu.au  More Information: AFREN  UCI Blackleg upper canopy infection management App Blackleg Management Guide Project Investment Code: CUR2302-002RTX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Ross Kingwell   Ross Kingwell has had a long and distinguished career as an agricultural economist, with over 150 published journals and book chapters and 350 conference papers and major policy and industry reports.   In this GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre, Ross shares years of wisdom in research, science, agro-politics and some pivotal moments that shaped who he is today. His early years were influenced by family exposure to agriculture and then lecturers who taught critical thinking and effective communication.   He discusses his key collaborative achievements, including the development of a farming systems model and the introduction of endpoint royalties in the grains industry. Ross is offered an opportunity to reflect on his journey as he talks about receiving the GRDC Seed of Light award in 2024.   Download the transcript for this episode  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.  GRDC Project Code: HAG2308-001SAX    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neil Smith farms at Merredin in Western Australia and after dabbling in chickpeas in the early 2000s, he has now been growing the crop continuously for the past four years.  As president of MADFIG, the Merredin and Districts Farm Improvement Group, Neil is a big advocate of peer-to-peer learning and is a part of the cohort of 'Legume Leaders' that has been established by the Grower Group Alliance, with investment from GRDC.  In this episode, Neil shares the challenges and benefits of growing chickpeas, as well as his key tips for growers wanting to incorporate them into their farming system.  Download the transcript for this episode Contact:  Neil Smith  Grower  neilmcsmith2@bigpond.com  More information:  Closing the economic yield gap of grain legumes in WA  Legume Leader bios and contact details Project Code:  GGA2110-002SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🎙️ Today's 'GRDC in Conversation' podcast interview is with Ben Single  Ben Single, founder of Single Ag, discusses his journey from studying aerospace engineering to developing a weed mapping system using drones. This GRDC In Conversation episode with Oli Le Lievre explores the importance of controlling chemical-resistant weeds in agriculture and the challenges of implementing new technology on the farm.   Ben highlights the role of his family in the business, the need for clear communication and defined roles and the turning point when he decided to commit full-time to Single Ag and the subsequent growth and success of the company.   Download the transcript for this episode  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.  GRDC Project Code: HAG2308-001SAX  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices