Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC)

A research project is under way to aid Australian grain growers to manage snail and slug damage in crops by optimising bait spreading operations. Snails and slugs cause substantial crop damage and impose costs on the Australian grains industry estimated at $43 million annually.

Grain growers are advised to remain vigilant by monitoring mouse numbers locally in the lead up to sowing. The latest meeting of the National Mouse Group (NMG) heard reports of moderate to high mouse activity from the Darling Downs and Roma in Queensland, parts of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and parts of Western Australia.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will host a national meeting in Adelaide on 19 February 2025 for grain industry participants to share knowledge on managing soil acidity in cropping systems.

Researchers from the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) are taking the idea of "try before you buy" straight to the bank to make it easier for farmers to utilise ag tech. The $3.7 million research project … investigates how to better utilise existing and emerging ag technologies to improve drought resilience for grain farmers.

Chickpea, lentil and faba bean growers across Australia can expect significantly more productive crops within the next decade thanks to a new collaborative, international research project to improve crop yields ... Project leader Professor Rajeev Varshney FRS ... said chickpea, lentil and faba bean production is currently hamstrung due to limited genetic diversity, resulting in meagre yield improvement of less than 0.5 per cent each year.

Field Applied Research Australia (FAR Australia) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) have launched a new project to transform on-farm profitability for wheat and barley growers in the high-rainfall zones of Australia. The project aims to close the gap between actual crop yields and the profitability possibilities in these zones.

Operating an 80 tyne-double chute bar, machinery expert Brett Asphar always keeps 160 buckets in his ute during sowing to check whether the seeder is distributing seed evenly. Asphar was a keynote speaker at BCG’s Seeder Demonstration Day at Murra Warra, where he explained to the 80 plus attendees why he is so dedicated to even seed distribution.  

GRDC and CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, are urging growers and advisers to be vigilant due to reports of moderate to high mouse activity in several regions across Australia … the areas with moderate to high mouse activity include parts of the north Adelaide Plains, Victorian Mallee and Wimmera, pockets of Queensland's Darling Downs, and the Central Eastern Wheatbelt of Western Australia.

Grain growers across Australia are being urged to check paddocks for mouse numbers and record mouse activity as part of a national campaign aimed at early detection and effective control ahead of this year’s winter crop. Concerns about mouse numbers were front of mind at the latest meeting of the National Mouse Group (NMG).

A groundbreaking $42.7 million national biosecurity initiative led by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) in partnership with five state government departments is set to transform the effectiveness and responsiveness of Australia’s grains biosecurity system. The six-year initiative will use state-of-the-art technology and processes to improve Australia’s ability to rapidly detect and accurately diagnose exotic pests and plant diseases...