GRDC Podcast

In this episode, agronomist Sam Trengove, from Trengove Consulting, and lentil farmer Tim Millard talk about one of the greatest challenges for legume growers - lentil pod loss. Lentil pod loss can be devastating to a crop. In some instances, farmers can lose up to 60 percent and the main cause, wind, is out of their hands to control. GRDC has invested in a multi-year grain legume project in South Australia, in part looking at how to prevent such dramatic lentil seed pod losses between maturity and harvest. While researchers found no silver bullets, they emphasise controlling what you can and using harvest timing, machinery setup, and awareness of conditions to capture as much of the crop as possible, while research continues to search for longer term solutions.  

In addition to the comments within this episode, agronomist Sam Trengove emphasises the question of what growers can do now in terms of timing of desiccation and timeliness of harvest with respect to wind events. He states that growers with large programs should stagger their desiccation times in line with their harvest capacity, so that they don't have all their lentil crop ready to harvest on the same day when it will take them 10 days to harvest. For example, if they have capacity to harvest 100ha of lentil per day and 1000ha of lentils to harvest, then staggering the desiccation time over a 10-day period may help to reduce the risks of having the whole crop ready and vulnerable if it is all sprayed within a couple days. A range of sowing dates and/or mix of variety maturities may also help to stagger the desiccation timing.  

The South Australian Grain Legume Project, is a joint initiative between South Australian Research and Development Institute, or SARDI and GRDC, led by the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA). 

Contact: Sam Trengove  

Trengove Consulting Pty Ltd  

[email protected] 

 

Tim Millard 

Grower in Goalpara, South Australia 

[email protected]  

More  Information:  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/fine-tuning-legume-agronomy-to-benefit-sa-growers  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/closing-the-economic-yield-gap  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/weeds-pests-diseases/chemical-regulation/herbicide-tolerant-lentils-registration-and-impacts  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/legume-challenges-addressed  

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/less-haste,-more-speed-for-lentil-desiccation-timing    

 

Project Code: UOA2105-013RTX  
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Hillcoat didn’t grow up on a farm. His journey began cycling five miles to a Lincolnshire farm in England, evolved through painting houses and teaching sailing in France, and eventually led him to Australian grain consulting via Marcus Oldham.

Today, as a Partner at Pinion Advisory, his work sits at the intersection of profit, people and perspective. In this conversation, James shares what truly drives high-performing farm businesses, why communication is the hidden lever in family enterprises, and how emotion, succession and robotics will shape the next era of Australian grain.

This episode explores:

●    What separates the top 20% of grain businesses

●    Why technical skill is only 30% of modern consulting

●    Emotion in family farming – and how to harness it productively

●    Lessons from the Country Fire Service on leadership under pressure

●    The succession challenge facing Australian agriculture

●    What “Consultant 3.0” looks like

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

More information

James Hillocat, Pinion Advisory: https://www.pinionadvisory.com/

https://grdc.com.au/events/past-events/2025/03/grdc-farm-business-update,-online-should-i-own-trucks-assessing-the-commercial-benefit

GRC 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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode of GRDC’s Grain Automate series speaks with Tim Neale, an expert agronomist and the director of Data Farming, a precision farming company based out of Toowoomba in southern Queensland. Tim works to help the industry get smarter about how to work with technology and managing the influx of automation available now and into the future. Agronomists can spend up to 75 per cent of their time driving, which can be frustrating and unproductive, prompting many of them to look at alternative monitoring options. But Tim is quick to reiterate the autonomous solutions aren't about replacing boots on the ground.

Contact:      

Tim Neale

Data Farming 

[email protected]

 

More Information:

-   https://grdc.com.au/research/partnerships-and-initiatives/major-initiatives/grain-automate

-   Autonomy proves a game changer | GroundCover

-   Expo steps gowers nearer to tomorrow | GroundCover

-   https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/precision-agriculture-and-machinery/are-you-ready-for-autonomy

-   https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/precision-agriculture-and-machinery/partnerships-and-vision-are-key-to-an-autonomous-future                     

 

Project Code:  

SPA2404-002RTX
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ed Scott grew up on a mixed farming property on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, but his path into agriculture wasn’t a straight line. What began with an interest in animal health and pasture production soon led him deeper into the soil beneath it all. Today, Ed works at the intersection of soils, precision agriculture, automation and sustainability, helping growers better understand what’s happening below the surface and how to turn that knowledge into smarter decisions on the farm.

In this conversation, Ed shares how the grains industry has evolved from treating soil as something to work around to seeing it as one of the biggest untapped opportunities in modern farming. He unpacks why variable rate adoption is still slower than expected, how harvest yield and protein data can sharpen nitrogen decisions, and why the next big gains may come from making better use of the data growers already collect.

This episode explores:
- How Ed’s early fascination with soils turned into a career in soil-focused
agronomy
- Why soils are still one of the biggest untapped opportunities in grain
production
- What growers can learn from digging soil pits and testing to depth
- Why variable rate technology remains underused despite its potential
- How spatial grain quality and protein mapping can improve nitrogen management
- The link between automation, precision ag and better on-farm decision making
-  How sustainability reporting and emissions data are starting to shape farm business conversations
 - Why the best-performing businesses will be the ones that manage risk with better information

Watch this episode as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/e1xdGTy2Xsw

More information:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/precision-agriculture-and-machinery/expo-steps-growers-nearer-to-tomorrow

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2024/07/leveraging-protein-for-profitability

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2025/02/dry-sowing-in-the-mid-north-lessons-from-the-dry-2024-season

 

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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legume marketing has long been considered a chicken and egg scenario. What comes first? The market or the grower collaborations? This episode explores this concept and how growers can collaborate to gain market access. A GRDC investment with the Grower Group Alliance is aiming to increase grower confidence in using legumes in Western Australia. This episode is part of a four-part series investigating the agronomy, profitability, marketing and harvesting of various legume crops. In this instalment, we’ll hear how to market legume crops with John Orr from Premium Grain Handlers based at Fremantle, Erin Cahill a grower and AgVivo agronomist in Moora WA, and Timm House a grower in Gnowangerup WA.

Contact: 

John Orr

Manager, Premium Grain Handlers

[email protected]

   

Erin Cahill

Grower & AgVivo agronomist, Moora, Western Australia

[email protected]

 

Timm House

Grower, Gnowangerup, Western Australia

[email protected]

More Information:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/profitable-legumes-becoming-a-reality)

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/shift-in-planting-time-offers-new-market-opportunity    

Project Code:

GGA2110-002SAX
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices