Southern New South Wales grain growers and agronomists keen to understand how to maximise nitrogen use efficiency to help drive on-farm profits are encouraged to attend GRDC's 2021 Grains Research Update in Wagga Wagga.

The annual two-day Update will be held at Joyes Hall on the Charles Sturt University campus on February 16 and 17.

A premier event for the State’s grains industry, the Update will showcase the latest information from a broad range of GRDC investments, including key learnings from farming system research into managing water and nitrogen use efficiency across years and crop sequences to drive on-farm profits.

GRDC Grower Relations Manager – North, Graeme Sandral, says the farming systems research is one of the hot topics on an agenda that covers everything from subsoil constraints to ryegrass control and canola establishment, dual purpose crops, disease and pest issues and profitable pulses for low rainfall zones.

“The GRDC Updates are key events on the grains industry calendar and bring together some of Australia’s leading grains research scientists, agronomists, consultations and growers,” Mr Sandral says.

“Topics for the Updates are selected by local planning committees and are underpinned by regionally relevant, credible and science-based information that is practical and ready for on-farm adoption with the potential to make a genuine difference to growers’ bottom lines.

“In this sense the Updates provide an opportunity for the GRDC to communicate the progress and outcomes of research projects that tackle productivity constraints and break new ground in delivering solutions to industry.”

The 2021 GRDC Update at Wagga Wagga will be run as a face-to-face event, but the event will also be live streamed free of charge due to COVID-19 attendance restrictions.

Day one of the program includes the following topics:

• Getting phenology right – project learnings from 2017-20 comparing wheat and barley responses and tactical agronomy to increase yield;
• amelioration of hostile subsoils;
• within paddock variability of subsurface pH in southern NSW;
• canola establishment;
• rhizobia strains impact on grain legume nodulation;
• Russian wheat aphid update;
• grazing cattle on dual purpose crops;
• diseases in pulses and canola for 2021.

Day two will feature the following presentations:

• de-risking nitrogen – the case for change;
• strategies for longer term management of nitrogen;
• managing nitrogen use efficiency across years and crop sequences to drive profit;
• developing new hard seeded self-regenerating legumes;
• profitable pulses for lower rainfall areas;
• managing ryegrass blowouts;
• seed dormancy and emergence patterns in ryegrass;
• challenges for fitting new pre-emergent herbicides into farming systems and managing them for longevity.

The 2021 GRDC NSW Grains Research Updates will be held at:

• Wagga Wagga – February 16-17 (Joyes Hall, Charles Sturt University)
• West Wyalong – February 18 (West Wyalong Services and Citizens Club)
• Tottenham – February 23 (Tottenham Memorial Hall)
• Coonamble – February 24 (Coonamble Showgrounds)
• Dubbo – February 25-26 (Dubbo RSL)
• Narrabri – March 4 (Narrabri Crossing Theatre).

More information: to register, contact John Cameron or Erica McKay at ICAN on 02 9482 4930, erica@icanrural.com.au or register at ICAN Rural.