Grains Research & Development Corporation

“You don’t really learn until things get tough.” Matthew Howell shares how the hardest seasons have driven the biggest lessons - from water use to nitrogen decisions and everything in between, in this week's #GRDCinConversation podcast with Humans of Ag. Sometimes it’s not the good years that shape a business, it’s the challenging ones. Listen in from Wednesday 🎧 #GRDCPodcast #HumansofAg #NextGen #CapacityBuilding #agriculture #farming

⚠️ Insecticide seed treatments are unlikely to protect canola from virus-bearing green peach aphids (GPA) ⚠️ Growers should now identify high-risk paddocks, monitor for GPA and assess the need for foliar insecticides. Widespread resistance to neonicotinoids among GPA means insecticide seed treatments may no longer reliably protect canola crops from infestations in autumn and early winter. GPA is the main vector of turnip yellows virus (TuYV) which can cause significant yield losses in canola. Mild autumn conditions and weed growth may lead to high numbers of GPA during canola emergence this season. 4 to 6 weeks' protection from insecticide seed treatments can no longer be assumed and growers are advised to identify high-risk paddocks and actively monitor crops for signs of early aphid infestations and seek testing of leaf samples for TuYV. A foliar insecticide may be effective if informed by careful monitoring and applied in a targeted manner during the early stages of GPA infestation. Spraying prophylactically is unlikely to suppress TuYV spread and may encourage further resistance. Read the full paddock practices article via the link in bio. 📷 Cesar Australia, NSW Agriculture #GRDCPaddockPractices #CropProtection #GreenPeachAphid #TurnipsYellowsVirus

Tom Michael runs a mixed farming operation with his wife, Rhiannon, and parents Neville and Sally at Barunga Gap, between Snowtown and Bute, SA. In this edition's #GroundCoverOnline grower series update, Tom says: "For 3 months from December, we had zero rain. We were busy feeding sheep, fattening lambs and doing some earthworks, preparing creek lines for cropping, and building a feedlot. Then, in the last week of February, it started raining and we had 120 mm in 3 weeks; beautiful soft rain that just soaked into the soil. It’s been amazing. Everywhere that wasn’t fallowed was green with pasture as far as the eye could see – just magnificent. It completely offset the disaster that (at late March) was prices of almost $1,300/t for nitrogen urea fertiliser and $2.80/L for diesel. I’m grateful for the position we’re in, but I’m also slightly nervous about making the most of the season (given urea and diesel costs) because we rarely go into the cropping program with such a fantastic opportunity. Despite urea being about $500/t more expensive than last year, I’ve bought it because I don’t want to miss the opportunity. We aim to have everything in the ground by the second week in May. We’re growing canola, wheat and lentils. I changed the program because of the rain, dropping pasture vetch and increasing our lentil area. Native pastures are doing well so I don’t have to plant any extra. We didn’t put nitrogen down with the crop, but top-dressed our canola straight after sowing in late April. The rain gave us 2 weed germinations, which we sprayed out before sowing. Snails were also active after the rain, laying eggs in late March, so that was a great time to bait them. The rain also provided the opportunity to plant about 50 gums as part of our land renovations. They are replacing 60-year-old Aleppo pines that are a prescribed weed in SA. My aunties were crying because their parents planted them, but hopefully we’ll have a big stand of gums in the future for my grandkids to enjoy one day." Read more via the link in bio. 📷 Nadinne Wilkinson #GrowerSeries #AgChat #Season2026 #agriculture

Lachie Moloney trialled faba beans for the first time 2 years ago to add resilience to his family’s property near Tullamore, central NSW. The Diverse Farms demonstration trial on Lachie’s family farm is part of GRDC’s Southern NSW Farming Systems Project. The project is led by CSIRO with co-investment from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Diverse Farms aims to validate small-plot research by comparing a faba bean/canola/wheat/barley rotation with a canola/wheat/barley sequence. It also seeks to identify barriers to on-farm adoption. Lachie’s adviser, Dan Sweeney from Baker Ag Advantage, says faba beans can fix 300 to 350 kg/ha of nitrogen, with 200 to 250 kg/ha removed in grain, leaving 50 to 100 kg/ha of legacy soil nitrogen. Besides biological nitrogen fixation, Lachie hopes a faba bean/canola double break will help reduce crown rot pressure and enable better annual ryegrass management without compromising farm profit over 4 years. Read more via the link in bio. #GroundCoverOnline #FabaBeans #DiverseFarms #agriculture

Annual ryegrass in the northern region doesn't always follow the same patterns seen further south. Rainfall variability, farming systems and local conditions can influence how and when it emerges. Nisha Kharel, based at the University of Queensland, is studying the ecology and biology of ryegrass across northern NSW and southern Queensland. Her research looks at seed dormancy and staggered germination, and the factors that drive these patterns. Understanding this variability is key to improving decisions around when to target ryegrass and how to strengthen control strategies in northern systems. This work contributes to our Weed Management Initiative, a national investment supporting region-specific weed management approaches that are grounded in local conditions. #GRDC #WeedManagementInitiative #WMI #WeedResearch #Weeds #GrainGrowers #IWM #AnnualRyegrass

You asked. They answered. As part of our Ask an Agronomist series, we’re putting growers’ questions directly to agronomists involved in the GRDC Weed Management Initiative. “Understanding how to use pre-emergents in our system” is front of mind for many growers. For Mitch Cuell, agronomist at Outlook Ag in Narrabri, it’s about building confidence - understanding how these products perform in heavier soils, what crop effects to expect, and where they fit. Because without them, resistance can escalate quickly and in-crop control becomes much harder. #AskanAgronomist #GRDC #WeedManagementInitiative #CropProtection #PreEmergentHerbicide

The northernmost commercial crop of lentils in WA has been deemed a success, as growers in the Geraldton zone search for higher-value legume alternatives to lupins 🙌. Chapman Valley producer Brady Green grew 40 ha of GIA Thunder lentils in 2025 and says despite mistakes, he's optimistic about the crop’s future in the region. Brady says lentils caught his attention over years of hosting trials for Yuna Farm Improvement Group and the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, yielding 1.5 t/ha even in a dry year like 2023. Brady and his wife, Erin, along with daughters Madi and Holly, farm 10,000 ha at ‘Carrawingee’ and ‘Waterloo’, north-east of Geraldton, in Western Australia’s mid-west region, as well as ‘Rusty’s’, which they share farm with 2 workers. The lentil crop was planted into wheat stubble on 25 May at 2 rates – 40 kg/ha and 50 kg/ha – on heavier soils with strong pH profiles and sandplain, which had been spaded in 2018 and deep-ripped in 2022. The farm’s standard lupin fertiliser blend, supplying about 12 units of phosphorus and 15 units of potassium, was applied, followed by 60 L/ha of urea ammonium nitrate just before canopy closure. Early lessons centred on nodulation, after a plan to apply a clay granule inoculant through the small seed box on the seeder compromised the result. “I wish we’d used the peat option and seed-dressed it because I took aerial photos all year, and it just showed me how poor a job we’d done, and how important it is to get it right,” Brady says. Read the full article via the link in bio. #GroundCoverOnline #Lentils #CropRotations #GrowerStory #agriculture

🎧 GRDC podcast special edition: we're back this week with the final 3 podcasts in our SA grain legume series. Controlling disease in crops has traditionally been the ultimate game of chance. However, work being done in faba and broad bean crops in SA has taken some of the risk out of the equation. In this episode, Max Bloomfield, a research manager at Field Applied Research Australia explores strategies to manage major foliar and soil-borne diseases in faba and broad beans, reducing yield losses and improving profitability. Max and his team were involved in the South Australian Grain Legume Project, a joint initiative between South Australian Research and Development Institute and GRDC, looking specifically at keeping faba and broad bean crops clean and productive and led by the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA). Listen now via the link in bio. #GRDCPodcast #Lentils #Legumes #Disease

Mark and Megan Baker crop 7,700 ha near Orion in Central QLD, with 3 full-time staff members. In this edition's GroundCover grower series update, Mark says: "Since 1 January we’ve recorded over 400 mm of rain. It is one of the best starts to the season in a long time. In the last week of January, we planted 2,500 ha of Green Taipan mungbeans and 1,400 ha of sorghum (Pioneer® A50, A30, A66). By 20 March, our mungbeans looked really good. Our agronomist estimated they could yield up to 2 t/ha, but they can be finicky and are called ‘mongrel beans’ for a reason. They look good but are a long way from the silo. For comparison, we grew mungbeans 2 years ago, and they yielded 1.6 t/ha, ahead of the Australian average of about 1.1 t/ha. We expected to be harvesting the mungbeans in the second week of April. We have 2 of our own harvesters but also employ a contractor. Since wheat prices are lower than we would like and urea may be difficult to obtain, we planned to remove wheat from our program and sow PBA Drummond desi chickpeas across our entire winter cropping area. This will reduce downside risk if urea becomes too expensive or too difficult to obtain. In December, we pre-fertilised 1,700 ha with coated urea (at $900/t delivered on-farm). That country was earmarked for wheat. Instead, it will be planted to chickpeas, and if there is enough rainfall, it will go into sorghum in January 2027. We planned to start sowing chickpeas around 8 to 15 May, with 40 kg/ha of monoammonium phosphate plus zinc. By the end of June, we will be starting the sorghum harvest. Diesel (at $2.64/L) supplies are secured to harvest our mungbeans, but we do not have enough on-farm to plant the chickpeas or harvest the sorghum. To spray our fallows, harvest mungbeans and sorghum, and plant chickpeas, we need 115,000 L of diesel. Falls of 120 to 160 mm of rain in early March kept our 2 self-propelled sprayers busy blanket-spraying our fallow country to keep it free of weeds. We expected to return to these paddocks in early April with the camera sprayer to knock down any survivors." Read more via the link in bio. 📷 Jaque Donaldson #GrowerSeries #AgChat #Season2026 #agriculture

A recent field day at Brookstead showcased how strip tillage and fertiliser management can lift sorghum establishment and productivity. MCA Agronomy’s Paul Castor and Brendan Burton led the event alongside host growers Peter and Matthew Black from Black and Co farming. The property hosted 3 trial sites during the 2025-26 summer season as part of a GRDC National Grower Network (NGN) project aimed at increasing sorghum yield and reliability through optimised crop establishment and fertiliser strategies. It began in 2023 and runs until mid-2026. Other sites are located at Condamine and Croppa Creek, NSW. Read more: https://bit.ly/3R05Kgo 📷 Claire Harris #GroundCoverOnline #Sorghum #Tillage #NationalGrowerNetwork

🎧 GRDC podcast special edition: we're back this week with the final 3 podcasts in our SA grain legume series. Disease prevention is pivotal in any cereal crop. This episode explores recognising and preventing diseases in lentils with research scientist Mohsen Khani from the South Australian Research and Development Institute. Lentils are often favoured because of their profitability, but diseases can undo a season's work in a matter of weeks if not kept in check. GRDC has invested in a multi-year grain legume project in South Australia, with part of that study focused on what to look for and how seasons affect disease development and progress. Listen now via the link in our bio. #GRDCPodcast #Lentils #Legumes #Disease

Understanding how fungicide resistance develops and what can be done to manage it is key to protecting crops. At the Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM) at Curtin University, Dr Nola D’Souza and her team detect and track fungicide resistance. It’s an ever-present challenge for Australian grain growers, but this video includes practical steps growers can take to slow its spread. Watch the full video via the link in bio. #GRDCVideo #CCDM #FungicideResistance #AFREN #CropProtection #Disease