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A flexible approach to localised research investments is helping the National Grower Network fill regional knowledge gaps.
Photo: Evan Collis

GRDC’s National Grower Network (NGN) is an open community of growers and grains industry stakeholders that was established in 2021. Engaging directly with stakeholders through forums, the NGN helps GRDC develop locally relevant research, development and extension (RD&E) investments and is already scoring goals.

Its key features are the ability to:

  • support meaningful engagement with growers, advisers and other industry stakeholders, including participation in GRDC investment delivery;
  • improve understanding of local issues and responsiveness to development, validation and extension investment opportunities; and
  • assist in the development of locally relevant investments that are timely and have on-farm impact.

GRDC grower relations manager – west – Jo Wheeler says the flexibility of the NGN process is key to its success.

We have been able to make timely investments to address seasonal events, which could become more frequent due to changing climatic situations.

For example, a tropical low system, Cyclone Seroja, hit the northern regions of WA in late March 2021. The subsequent deluging of the Geraldton Port Zone caused $400 million in damage.

“After the Cyclone Seroja experience, a second major rainfall event in 2022 created an opportunity to study the performance of canola with different maturity lengths when sown in early April under moist conditions, rather than the typical dry sowing in this region. This research was commissioned through the GRDC’s NGN in collaboration with the Liebe Group.”

Another example is a project that was commissioned in response to waterlogging events in the Albany Port Zone (APZ) in 2021 and Esperance Port Zone (EPZ) in 2021 and 2022. In these years, large areas remained unplanted well into August and September due to the highly waterlogged soils making paddocks untrafficable.

Growers and consultants within these areas expressed a desire to explore if a profitable barley and wheat crop could be grown. And if so, what management was needed.

“A waterlogging event occurred in 2022 and the NGN swung into action commissioning research with the Stirlings to Coast Farmers group,” Ms Wheeler says.

Given waterlogging is a relatively common occurrence in these areas, having resources to lean on is important, she says.

“This project filled the knowledge gap by providing locally relevant data directly to local growers and consultants.”



To learn more about the National Grower Network, find an event or contact in your region, visit the NGN page on the GRDC website.

More information: Berin Gibbons, berin.gibbons@grdc.com.au; Luke Dawson, luke.dawson@grdc.com.au

Read more in the GroundCoverTM story Trials explore backup crop tactics after waterlogging

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