GRDC Podcast

Get pulse agronomy foundations right on your farm to reduce risk and build long term profitability. This episode explores examples from the South Australian Grain Legume Project, a GRDC investment. We speak with Sarah Day, communications and extension manager with Mallee
Sustainable Farming, and Wade Nickolls, whose family farms pulses at Pinnaroo in the Southern Mallee of South Australia and Victoria. Wade says while the pulse industry and agronomy has changed a lot in the last 30 years, the key drivers for success are still the same.

The SA Grain Legume Project: ‘Development and extension to close the economic yield gap and maximise farming systems benefits from grain legume production in South Australia’ is led by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the research division of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, alongside a number of project partners.

Contacts: 

Sarah Day

Mallee Sustainable Farming

Communication and Extension Manager

[email protected]

 

Wade Nickolls

Grower

[email protected]

 

Project Investment Code: 

UOA2105-013RTX
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In this episode of GRDC in Conversation, Oli Le Lievre sits down with Ashley Amourgis, General Manager of Southern Farming Systems, just west of Geelong. 

Growing up on a dairy farm near Deloraine in Tasmania, Ashley developed a deep appreciation for agriculture as a way of life. That grounding has shaped her journey into the grains industry, where she now works at the intersection of research, extension and farming systems in Victoria’s high rainfall zone. 

Ashley shares her pathway from university uncertainty and early rejection to nearly a decade in grains, reflecting on confidence, mentorship and stepping into leadership. 

The conversation explores nitrogen management in high rainfall environments, the importance of long-term Farming Systems research, the role of drainage in transforming southwest Victoria, and why every farm requires context rather than cookie cutter advice. 

Ashley also offers advice for young professionals entering agriculture and explains why, despite advances in AI and technology, people remain at the heart of the industry. 

 

Watch highlights from this episode as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bMjm1-wQzMQ

More information:

Farming systems project to inform decision making for southern growers https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/grdc/announcements/farming-systems-project-to-inform-decision-making-for-southern-growers 

Southern Farming Systems projects
https://sfs.org.au/farming-systems/projects

GRDC in Conversation is a limited series GRDC Podcast. It features in-depth interviews with growers and other experts in the grains industry who share their expertise, knowledge and experiences by exploring their personal stories, history, influences and motivations. The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of GRDC, the interviewees’ employer, institution or other associated parties. 

GRDC Project Code:

HAG2507-001SAX
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This episode is part two in the GRDC Grain Automate initiative series and is led by the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia (SPAA). Emma Ayliffe, a grower and director with Summit Ag in New South Wales Central West, takes us through a pragmatic approach to autonomy and agronomy. She covers how farm data can be structured and interpreted to support confident, actionable decision making rather than just generating dashboards. Emma is adamant growers need to be using more structure when assessing what to prioritise on farm. And at the top of that list is data. 

Contact:

Emma Ayliffe  

Grower, Lake Cargelligo NSW 

 [email protected]  

 

More Information:

Grain Automate

Are you ready for Autonomy?

Major initiatives - Grain Automate

SPAA Webinar – Paving the way for on-farm autonomy

 

Project Code:

SPA2404-002RTX
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In this episode of GRDC In Conversation, host Oli Le Lievre sits down with Darcy Warren, a leading researcher at Field Applied Research (FAR) Australia based in Geelong. Darcy’s entry into agriculture was far from traditional; growing up in the leafy Melbourne suburb of Greensborough, he discovered agricultural science almost by accident at a university open day. From those early sparks of curiosity, Darcy has built a distinguished career, starting with a joint GRDC and Agriculture Victoria graduate program and progressing to help lead a national research team. 

 

The conversation explores the rapid growth of Field Applied Research (FAR) Australia from a small team of four to a national organisation. Darcy reflects on the "career-defining" Hyper Yielding Cereals project in Tasmania, the complexities of managing disease burdens, and the shifting landscape of fungicide resistance. Beyond the technical science, Darcy discusses the "people side" of agriculture—the importance of mentorship, the challenges of a travel-heavy career, and why he encourages the next generation of "city kids" to find their place in the grains sector. 

 

Watch highlights from this episode as a video on YouTube.

More information 

Far Australia

GRDC in Conversation is a limited series GRDC Podcast. It features in-depth interviews with growers and other experts in the grains industry who share their expertise, knowledge and experiences by exploring their personal stories, history, influences and motivations. The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of GRDC, the interviewees’ employer, institution or other associated parties. 

GRDC Project Code:

HAG2507-001SAX
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In this episode, Tim Neale from DataFarming explains a new precision ag tool, weedSAT. weedSAT — a satellite-powered weed detection tool developed with investment from GRDC through the Grain Automate initiative uses high-resolution commercial satellite imagery, to identify larger, hard-to-kill weeds across broadacre paddocks. Before growers even enter the field — it enables targeted spraying using existing boom spray section control systems. We also hear from Precision Ag consultant Bindi Isbister who has been trailing the technology with Western Austalian growers with good success.

Contacts: 

Tim Neale

Datafarming

[email protected]

 

Bindi Isbister

Agrarian Management

[email protected]

 

More Information: 

Satellites deployed to pintpoint summer weeds

 

weedSAT turning your conventional boom into a spot sprayer using ultra high resolution satellite imagery

 

Project Investment Code:   

DFL2304-002RTX
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