GRDC harnessing power of online learning

Realising the busy schedules of growers and agronomists, The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will again offer its popular Grains Research Updates straight to digital devices.

GRDC Online Grains Research Updates are virtual sessions led by experts who share the latest findings and information on a variety of grain research and development topics.

These webinars provide valuable insights and relevant knowledge directly to growers and agronomists without the need for them to leave their farms or offices.

GRDC Grower Relations Manager, Graeme Sandral, said the Online Grains Research Updates have a great reputation for providing relevant grains industry information.

”These webinars are free and tackle topics of national significance, offering invaluable insights to growers and agronomists throughout our northern, southern and western grain-growing regions,” he said.

“The next session of updates will run from May 30 until June 13 and cover four separate topics.

“Each webinar kicks off at 9am AEST and lasts approximately 1.5 hours. There is no cost to participants, and they will receive a link to the recording and other resources associated with each topic post-session”.

The first session in the series, already held, centred around irrigation efficiency and was led by experts/researchers from the Universities of Queensland and Southern Queensland.

The session discussed innovative technologies to enhance irrigation decision-making and optimise irrigation efficiency.

Today, Thursday, June 1, the spotlight shifts to optimising clethodim efficacy and addressing haloxyfop MRL issues in export canola.

“This session delves deep into maximising the efficacy of group one herbicide applications, with particular emphasis on clethodim,” Mr Sandral said.

“The session explains resistance levels, the role of translocation, the influence of weed size, timing, spray coverage, adjuvants, water quality, temperature, frost, and tank mixes. We will also look at haloxyfop MRL issues in export canola.”

Looking to the future, next Tuesday, 6 June, brings a session on deciphering weather and climate forecasts.

This update will leverage off the Agri-Climate Outlook project’s to provide practical tips on utilising data from the Bureau of Meteorology for short and long-term forecasting.

A recent disruption to sowing operations, when satellite GPS enabled systems failed in April, highlights the critical nature of robust, resilient systems.

The final webinar on Tuesday, 13 June, examines this incident and possible solutions to manage potential future problems.

“During this webinar we’ll hear from Tim Neale of Data Farming, who will provide an overview of the incident and discuss potential mitigation strategies,” Mr Sandral said.

Growers and agronomists interested in attending the Online Grains Research Update sessions are encouraged to register via the GRDC website - grdc. com.au