On Thursday last week over 90 farmers and other agricultural industry professions converged on the Dimboola Memorial Secondary College hall for the August 2016 GRDC Grains Research Update.

Originally planned to be hosted in the Health and Fitness Centre, the meeting was moved to the Assembly hall when it became clear that the number of attendees would exceed the available space in that venue.

Above - Colin Peace from JumbukAg Consulting addressing the crowd of more than 90 people about the hay market.

GRDC South Regional Panel member John Bennett, of Lawloit, was the host for the meeting and stated that the Grains Research Updates play a pivotal role in keeping growers and their advisers abreast of industry developments.

"Growers each year must deal with a range of constraints that impact on their ability to achieve optimal yields and returns," Mr Bennett said.

"The Updates give our growers the chance to hear about what's new and what could make a difference to their farming systems and their bottom line."

Time was allocated to five separate presentations, each covering a different topical subject presented by a leading industry professional.

The first topic addressed was one of the most significant issues facing cereal producers this season which is the discovery of Russian Wheat Aphid in Australia. Paul Umina from "cesar' in Melbourne led this discussion which covered identification, control and the implications into the future of this pest.

The second session led by Jason Brand from Agriculture Victoria covered an update on pulse variety breeding.

After a brief break for morning tea, the progress of research into the use of bentleg furrow openers at seeding was detailed by Jack Desbiolles from the University of Adelaide.

An update on the local, regional and export hay market drivers was presented by JumbukAg Consulting's Colin Peace, which included an entertaining comparison likening the volatility of the grain markets to the performance of a Tesla electric sports car he recently had to opportunity to ride in, and the hay markets to that a local reliable commodore.

The implications of herbicide resistance, and some strategies to avoid this was the topic of the last presentation which was presented by Chris Preston from the University of Adelaide.

The session was presented by the GRDC, O'Callaghan Rural Management (ORM) and supported by the Birchip Cropping Group.

Morning tea and lunch was catered for by the Parents and Friends of St Peter's Lutheran School and the venue was provided by the Dimboola Memorial Secondary College.



Along with the formal presentations which are the primary reasons for these events, the opportunity to talk with other farmers over morning tea is also important.