Western Australia
September 19, 2014
A phone survey targeting Western Australian grain growers aims to build a clearer picture of farmers’ attitudes towards different break crops including canola, lupins, pulses and oats.
The survey, conducted by the Department of Agriculture and Food with support from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), is targeting up to 200 growers.
“Grain growers constantly have to respond to market forces, cash flow, weed numbers and disease factors each year to determine the best rotation for them in each paddock,” Department development officer Paul Carmody said.
“The role break crops play in farmers’ decision making is under scrutiny again as these factors can constantly change with time. The role that farmers believe break crops will play in future will be helpful for our industry to gain further insights to farmers’ needs.”
DAFWA, in partnership with growers, grower groups and GRDC, has been successful in developing the lupin, pulse, canola and oat industries in WA over the last decade.
“This has been achieved primarily through the applied agronomy projects which are focused on each commodity and the development of robust management packages,” Mr Carmody said.
“A similar survey was conducted in 2008 and now the industry would like to update its understanding of where grower attitudes and perceptions are at with break crops. It is also part of a national effort to understand the trigger points for crop sequence decisions and future R&D needs.”
Each phone survey will last approximately 20 minutes. The department’s agronomy project team is managing the phone survey though a survey provider and will report its findings during Agribusiness Crop Updates in 2015.
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