Nuffield Australia Scholarships open minds – and doors – for growers, helping to identify, share and implement new knowledge, management skills and practice

Curiosity led South Australian grain grower Mark Modra to apply for a Nuffield Australia Scholarship more than 20 years ago.

“I was encouraged by a friend, Jane Greenslade,” he recalls. “We were at a GRDC Research Update, and I kept asking questions. She suggested that if I had that many questions, I should apply to learn more.”

Mark applied and received a GRDC-supported scholarship, which saw him travel to the US, Ukraine, Europe and Israel in 2005.

His research topic was resistance, exploring options for weed and insect control beyond herbicides and pesticides.

Connections

Mark is one of more than 70 grain growers GRDC has supported since 2000. Topics studied are diverse, ranging from water use efficiency to staffing, precision agriculture and continuous cropping.

While undertaking a Nuffield scholarship helps growers to drill down into a topic important to them and the grains community, it also opens doors to new possibilities, perspectives and cross-industry connections. A community connected by a shared curiosity and desire to challenge the norm can spark innovation.

When Victorian mixed farmer Dustin (Dusty) Pascoe talks about his 2020 Nuffield Scholarship, he is inspired by the people he met during his travels. The 43-year-old, who farms near Raywood, says Nuffield helped him create a network of like-minded friends willing to share their expertise.

I often chat with scholars I met in England, Ireland, Victoria and Western Australia to ask questions. It’s a fantastic network.

For Central Queensland grower Luke Bradley, his GRDC-supported 2017 Nuffield Australia Scholarship – to explore how precision agriculture could help with on-farm variability – allowed him to develop an open-minded thought process.

“While it does open doors for you to learn and bring that information home with you, a Nuffield critically helps you think. A Nuffield Scholarship gives you the opportunity to open your eyes and develop an open-minded thought process. Nothing changes overnight but you open up to new ideas.”

Central Queensland grower Luke Bradley completed a GRDC-supported Nuffield Australia Scholarship in 2017. It helped him explore how precision agriculture could help with on-farm variability and allowed him to develop an open-minded thought process. Photo: Rowdy Travis

Autonomy options

Two decades on, Mark Modra says some of the weed technology he explored still has value, especially as autonomy increases.

For instance, he says microwave technology to kill weeds via autonomous vehicles is a better option now than it was in 2005.

For South Australian grain grower Mark Modra the greatest takeaway from his GRDC-supported Nuffield Australia Scholarship was the people he met. Pictured here a few years after his 2005 trip, he says being with people who had an open mind was hugely beneficial. “They have imagination, challenge your thinking, and help you process ideas.” Photo: Catherine Norwood

The process takes time, as the vehicle needs to physically stop over the weed. “Growers don’t want to sit in the paddock zapping a weed. But a robot could. It could stop at weeds and spend a few seconds blasting them.

“Autonomy will open the door to these things. That’s where we might get some more traction in weed control.”

Mark also looked at brassica fumigation, learning about allelopathy, the chemical inhibition of one plant by another.

In basic terms, a brassica, such as yellow mustard, would be grown, harvested and crushed. The oil could be sold and the meal placed back on the paddock and mixed into the soil, adding nitrogen but also an allelopathic chemical called glucosinolate.

“Once it rains, the meal emits glucosinolate a gas, essentially fumigating the paddock killing weeds.”

Reflecting on his scholarship, Mark says the greatest takeaway is the people he met.

“Being with people who have an open mind was hugely beneficial – they have imagination, challenge your thinking, and help you process ideas.

“The Global Focus Tour – the joint tour with your cohort – was great. There were so many like-minded, curious people who encouraged you to think laterally.

“Often farming circles can be more close-minded. The thinking can be ‘Well, we’ve always done it this way, so this is the way things are done’, and Nuffield opens your mind to other possibilities.

“I would love to do it all again. For others, I’d say apply and be prepared to be challenged and changed.”

Agriculture empowered

The connections made and sense of community created by a Nuffield Scholarship are not lost on GRDC’s newest recipient, Claire Catford.

Claire will study thriving farmers and vibrant communities – ‘the dynamic duo’ empowering agriculture.

The business manager of Catford Farming says communities are undergoing significant change that poses challenges to grower wellbeing, while threatening access to labour and services.

Claire wants to equip growers with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate the complexities of modern agriculture while enhancing rural communities’ vibrancy and sustainability.

It is a topic that many organisations, including GRDC, have recognised the need to address.

Claire Catford is GRDC’s 2025 Nuffield Australia Scholar and will study thriving farmers and vibrant communities – ‘the dynamic duo’ empowering agriculture. Photo: supplied

Resources: Nuffield Australia – Weed and insect control, beyond pesticides.

Nuffield Australia

For 75 years, Nuffield has connected agricultural leaders through its flagship experiential learning program – enabling the sharing of knowledge that creates a sustainable and profitable food and fibre industry.

GRDC has supported more than 70 grain growers to be part of the process since 2000.

A GRDC-supported Nuffield Scholarship sees growers:

• earn a travel bursary worth more than $40,000
• travel overseas for 15 weeks of face-to-face learning and development
• research a topic of interest
• enter a network of 2000 global alumni
• gain access to businesses and individuals who might otherwise be unreachable.

GRDC sponsors the Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarship program to support the development of agricultural leaders to identify, share and implement new knowledge, management skills and farming practices.

The scholarship provides an opportunity for grains industry participants to identify a topic for research relevant to them and the broader industry and then travel to study this within an Australian and international context.

To apply for a 2026 Nuffield Scholarship, visit Nuffield Australia.