Deeper connections with growers, researchers and industry will be forged when key Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) personnel embark on a tour of Western Australia’s northern agricultural region in mid-September.

The GRDC Western Panel plays a critical advisory and strategic role in informing GRDC investments in research, development and extension (RD&E) to create enduring profitability for grain growers.

Western region panel members and staff will tour the region from September 11 – 14, meeting with local growers, grower group representatives, researchers and advisers in a range of locations including farms and trial sites.

Newly appointed Western Panel deputy chair Juliet McDonald says that the panel tours were a vital part of GRDC’s ongoing consultation with growers and industry, enabling the organisation to identify gaps for potential future investment.

“This year the season is a real mixed bag in the northern ag region, with some areas doing it tough,” Ms McDonald says.

“This makes it even more important that we get out there and visit farms, visit trial sites, and speak with growers.

“During the tours, we catch up with grower groups and service providers at trial sites, and we also speak with growers on-farm to get a deeper understanding of the issues that they’re facing, as well as the implications for their own businesses.

“These tours complement the multiple ways GRDC regularly engages with grower at a grassroots level – such as through the GRDC National Grower Network forums.”

GRDC board members, staff and panel members from other grain growing regions across Australia will also join the tour, taking advantage of the opportunity to gain a first-hand understanding of local and regional challenges in WA.

The Western Panel spring tour will begin at Konnongoring on Monday September 11 before moving through Kalannie, Dalwallinu, Wubin, Latham, Coorow, Carnamah, Three Springs, Mingenew, Geraldton and Northampton, finishing in Yuna on Thursday September 14.

It will include visits with grower groups, field walks and visits to several GRDC-investment trial sites including:

• Soil re-engineering
• Grain legumes in cropping rotations
• Early sown canola
• Strip and disc systems
• Fallow management
• WA farming systems
• Weed management following strategic deep tillage.

Growers and industry representatives seeking details about the GRDC Western Region Panel tour can contact the Perth office on western@grdc.com.au or 08 9230 4600.