High moisture grain generates heat when put into a sealed silo, providing ideal conditions for mould and insect growth.

The GRDC Board is accountable to Australia's grain growers, through the industry peak organisation and to the Commonwealth Parliament, through the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The GRDC Board normally has between seven and nine directors.

The Chairman is selected and appointed by the Minister. Mr Keith Perrett was appointed by the Minister on 1 October 2007, and reappointed until 30 September 2013.

The Managing Director is appointed by the Board of the Corporation. The Managing Director is the sole Executive Director and holds office at the Corporation's pleasure. John Harvey was appointed as the GRDC’s Managing Director on 1 March 2011.

Five to seven Directors are appointed by the Minister, on advice from a selection committee selected by the Minister. On 22 November 2011 the Minister announced the appointment of 6 directors, until 30 September 2014.

Young scientists can gain funding of up to $22,000 for projects that involve groundbreaking research and innovation to help keep Australia’s rural industries sustainable and profitable.

Aeration cooling for on-farm grain storages can improve grain quality in so many ways it’s surprising to discover many grain farmers are yet to embrace this technology.

The way the world is expected to look in 2050 is much on the mind of Dr Thomas Lumpkin, as the CIMMYT Director-General oversees efforts to build capacity within farming systems.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has called for tenders for a $1.35 million project aimed at broadening the range of fungicides available to cereal and pulse growers.

Take home messages

• Machinery costs are driven by scale: the challenge is to keep the capacity of the machine matched to scale (current and anticipated).
• Harvesting costs depend on throughput through the header. Doubling header capacity (e.g. with two machines) increases harvesting costs from $15.22/t to $22.55/t (inclusive of chaser bin) with only half the throughput through each of the two machines..
• The risk of weather damage through an 11 day period during harvest is about 3.3% at Donald but is at least double this at Cootamundra and Parkes.
• Hence, it is not possible to justify doubling harvesting capacity with two headers at Donald, but it may be justifiable to increase harvesting capacity by 50% at Cootamundra and Parkes.
• Any excess capacity available through having two headers might be used in providing contracting services to neighbours.
• Mother bins are a cost effective way of by-passing the high cost pathway of trucking back to a central storage complex. In fact it may be possible to justify two mother bins on large (4,000 hectares plus) grain growing operations.
• Grain bags are an alternative approach to keeping the grain away from the header through harvest through short-term storage in the paddock.
• Commencing harvest in advance of harvest ripe and employing aeration drying through a purpose built central silo complex is difficult to justify in the south where the probability of damaging weather through harvest is much lower than it is in the north (e.g. around Moree and Goondiwindi).

South Australia is well represented on the newly appointed southern panel of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), with three members.

To read the GRDC Southern Panel Biographies visit:
http://www.grdc.com.au/GRDCSouthernRegionPanel  

Tasmania has a representative on the newly appointed southern region panel of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) for the first time in several years.

To read the GRDC Southern Panel Biographies visit:
http://www.grdc.com.au/GRDCSouthernRegionPanel