GRDC Podcast

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
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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
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James Walter is the bioinformatics lead at Australian Grain Technologies (AGT), working at the intersection of genetics, data science and plant breeding. His role focuses on turning vast amounts of genomic and field data into practical insights that help breeders make better decisions and ultimately deliver improved crop varieties to growers.

In this episode, James takes us behind the scenes of the plant breeding pipeline, unpacking the journey from initial crosses in the glasshouse through to years of field trials, quality testing and eventual commercial release. He explains how modern breeding balances resilience and performance, why stability across seasons is critical, and how the explosion of data and new technologies is reshaping how varieties are developed.

This episode explores:

●  James’ pathway from agricultural science into bioinformatics and plant breeding

●   What a role in genomics and data science looks like in agriculture

●   How plant breeding programs work from glasshouse to commercial release

●  Why it takes 8–10 years to develop a new crop variety

●   The importance of stability versus peak performance in different seasons

●  How genetics and field data are combined to guide breeding decisions

● The role of large-scale field trials across multiple environments

●   How new technologies, AI and data are transforming plant breeding

●   The sheer scale of data involved in modern breeding programs

●   Career opportunities in agriculture beyond traditional farm roles

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

More information:

https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/climate/global-search-helps-heat-tolerance-gains-to-be-made-in-wheat

https://www.agtbreeding.com.au/

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 explores how to set pulse crops up for success, because they really don't forgive shortcuts with herbicides. Navneet Aggarwal, a senior research agronomist for the South Australian Research and Development Institute or SARDI, has been a part of the South Australian Grain Legume Project looking specifically at herbicide safety and weed management in pulses. He says preparation is key, but if those crucial steps are missed, what are the options?

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.

Contact:

Navneet Aggarwal

South Australian Research and Development Institute

navneet.a⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

 

More Information:     ⁠

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2024/07/broadleaf-weed-management-in-lentil-grown-on-different-soil-types-in-south-australia⁠⁠https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/pulses/sa-research-push-to-close-pulse-yield-gaps⁠

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

⁠https://grdc.com.au/grdc-investments/investments/investment?code=UOA2105-013RTX&_gl=1*yrqwkq*_ga*ODQxMzgxOTU0LjE3NzI1MDg1NjY.*_ga_ZTGWWXHVRC*czE3NzMxMDAzODYkbzckZzEkdDE3NzMxMDE5MjgkajI0JGwwJGgw

                            

Project Investment Code: 

UOA2105-013RTX
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This episode focuses on sandy soils and how to unlock their potential to successfully grow pulses, which have traditionally been a challenge. GRDC's investment in the South Australian Grain Legume project has led to a targeted approach to trialling a variety of methods for sandy soil improvement. Agronomist, Jason Brand, has worked closely on this project, previously with Agriculture Victoria and Frontier Farming Systems, but more recently as a director of GEM Agronomy.

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.

Contact:  

Jason Brand

Director, Gem Agronomy

[email protected]

 

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

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/resources/sandy-soils
               

Project Investment Code:

UOA2105-013RTX
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