Registrations open for GRDC Grains Research Updates in Perth, Dongara, Bencubbin, Hyden and Kojonup

Registrations are now open for WA’s premier grains industry forum — the two-day 2022 Grains Research and Development Corporation Grains Research Update in Perth and its four regional sister events.

The annual event aims to bring together the best grains researchers and speakers for an action-packed two-day program at Crown Perth on February 21 and 22.

Dongara, Bencubbin, Hyden and Kojonup have also been selected for one-day regional updates between March 1 and 23.

GRDC senior regional manager — west Peter Bird said nearly 600 people attended last year’s event, which showcased the latest research, technology, market development and management innovations to boost productivity and profitability of the grains industry.

“The GRDC Grains Research Update in Perth is an important forum for growers, advisers, researchers and industry service providers to connect and share insights and knowledge to help further the State’s thriving export-focused grain industry,” he said.

“The 2021 record-breaking season has left the bulk of growers and the grains industry generally in a great position to look at opportunities to invest in further improvements to increase the sustainability and profitability of farms and the industry.”

All Grains Research Update guests will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to visit Crown Perth after January 31, in line with WA’s Safe Transition Plan and Crown Perth’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.

GRDC western region panel chair Darrin Lee, who farms at Mingenew, said information presented at the update ranged from research information to underpin improved agronomic practices for increased profitability on-farm, through to broader insights on big-picture trends and issues affected the industry overall.

“This will be a challenging year, with input prices expected to rise considerably,” he said.

“In order to remain competitive, we must continually adapt and change, which means updating our knowledge to adjust our farming systems to meet market and climate challenges and opportunities.”

The plenary sessions will feature information from GRDC’s investment, with the CSIRO investigating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from grain farming and the grains industry.

There will be industry representatives presenting a Market Outlook for the WA grains industry for 2022 and longer term.

A session exploring Ag tech developments relevant to WA grain growers will feature a yet-to-be-named leading international expert from the US, discussing what growers can expect from advances in gene editing technology.

More than 40 concurrent sessions will be held during the two days, with a focus on important issues impacting on crop choices and variety performance, farming systems, agronomy tips, crop protection from important weeds, pests and diseases, through to information on crop nutrition in the face of increased fertiliser costs.

Extended focus sessions will take place after lunch on the second day and will include a carbon session on ‘Reducing net emissions in the grains industry’, alternate sessions on weed control and fertiliser strategies.

After the success of the ‘New researcher snapshots’ last year, these will form part of the day two program running concurrently to the focus group sessions.

This gives up and coming researchers the chance to show the grains industry what they are working on and receive valuable feedback.

The GRDC Grains Research Update in Perth will be followed by six one-day regional updates in Dongara (March 1), Bencubbin (March 3), Hyden (March 9), Kojonup (March 23) with a further two events set to be held in July and August.

To find out more or register, visit giwa.org.au/2022researchupdates or grdc.com.au/updatedates, or contact the Grains Industry Association of WA on 08 6262 2128 or researchupdates@giwa.org.au