Grain growers in northeast New South Wales and southern Queensland are invited to add their voices to a National Grower Network (NGN) forum in their region early next month.

The NGN, an initiative of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GDRC), is a community of growers and industry stakeholders connecting on-the-ground insight to research investment.

Kicking off in Spring Ridge on July 2, the upcoming forum series will head north to Bellata (July 3) and Moree (July 3) before crossing the border to Thallon (July 4).

The sessions will be led by GRDC grower relations managers Bob Ford, Sally Dickinson and Bec Raymond in conjunction with GRDC crop protection manager Michael Thompson.

Mr Ford says each event provided a key opportunity for growers, advisers and industry professionals to contribute ideas and raise local issues directly with GRDC.

“These forums aim to gather valuable insights and feedback from growers, providing them with a platform to share their ideas, voice their needs and explain their challenges,” he says.

The forums will feature a line-up of speakers including AMPS’s Matt Gardner. Photo: GRDC

“This insight is crucial to ensuring that GRDC’s new research, development and extension (RD&E) is effectively addressing the real-world challenges faced by the grain-growing community.”

Mr Ford says NGN forums also presented an opportunity for GRDC to share important information such as the latest results from investment in their region, as well as new insights, approaches, tools and technologies that they can adopt themselves.

Planned presentations include talks from Matt Gardner (AMPS), Mitch Cuell (Outlook AG), Tony Lockrey (AMPS) and Loretta Serafin (NSW DPI).

All growers, advisers and industry representatives are welcome to attend and contribute to these free-of-charge forums. Registration is essential.

“We’re looking to run these forums in other areas soon, so drop us a message if you’d like your region/town on the list for potential future events,” Mr Ford says.

For more information visit the GRDC events page or contact the GRM team (Bob Ford on bob.ford@grdc.com.au or 04280 950 015, Sally Dickinson on sally.dickinson@grdc.com.au or 0457 710 057, and Bec Raymond on rebecca.raymond@grdc.com.au or 0484 356 383).