Australia
April 6, 2016

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will honour a pledge to strengthen its regional ties today when it opens the doors of its new Dubbo office and hosts a GRDC board member-tour to meet with central NSW growers and visit leading research facilities.

The Dubbo office will be officially opened by Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton and attended by GRDC managing director John Harvey, chairman Richard Clark, deputy chair Kim Halbert (WA) and GRDC board directors Dr Andrew Barr (SA), Dr Helen Garnett (NT), Roseanne Healy (SA), David Shannon (SA), Dr Jeremy Burdon (ACT) and John Woods (NSW).

The office opening and board tour clearly demonstrate GRDC’s commitment to deliver on industry calls for regionally relevant, locally coordinated and transparent levy investment as well as the fostering of greater engagement with growers, grower groups, advisers and researchers.

GRDC northern panel chairman James Clark (pictured) said the day’s activities represented a milestone for GRDC in its drive to better service the research needs and priorities of local growers through targeted regional investment in extension activities and medium term (3-8 year timeframe) research projects in agronomy, weeds, nutrition, diseases, soils, farming systems and pests.

“The GRDC is well aware of its responsibility to ensure that levy investment delivers farm-ready solutions to production constraints, helps reduce production costs and has a positive impact on farm profitability,” Mr Clark said.

“This responsibility has been a driving force behind the recent transformation in how the GRDC does business both at a national and regional level.

“In the north we use a business-like system to determine how and where GRDC invests and all options are subject to a rigorous process of regional situation analysis’, research gap analysis’ and finally the establishment of regional research priorities.

“Today’s board tour is giving directors an on-the-ground insight into how the northern region research investment strategy is working and what it offers in terms of tangible and practical benefits to the research community and growers.

“But to be completely effective, the strategy requires collaboration between the GRDC, the research community, advisor networks and growers and the establishment of a regional office in Dubbo will help grow that engagement.”

Following the Dubbo office opening, the tour continues to the GRDC-funded Grain Orana Alliance (GOA) Local Agronomy meeting in Narromine for a briefing with growers and advisors on the latest outcomes from major local research projects.

The board’s final visit for the day will be the Trangie Agricultural Research Centre for an overview of current research trials and the collaborative research investment partnership between GRDC and NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in areas such as weeds, farming systems and pulse agronomy.

 

Website: http://www.grdc.com.au

Published: April 6, 2016