Grain growers throughout north central Victoria will soon converge on Elmore to explore the options available to them as they adapt to changing market, environmental and agronomic conditions.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Grains Research Update for growers on Thursday, February 16, will feature a line-up of industry experts from across the country who will provide advice and support to growers preparing for the 2012 cropping season and beyond.

South Australian grains industry professionals will gather in Adelaide next month to learn how they can assist growers in establishing greater flexibility within their farming systems.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will host a two-day industry forum featuring expert speakers from throughout Australia and around the globe who will present information and advice on the options available to growers as they strive for increased productivity, profitability and sustainability.

Grain growers throughout north central Victoria will next month converge on Elmore to explore the options available to them as they adapt to changing market, environmental and agronomic conditions.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Grains Research Update for growers on Thursday, February 16, will feature a line-up of industry experts from across the country who will provide advice and support to growers preparing for the 2012 cropping season and beyond.

Victorian grains industry professionals will gather in Ballarat next month to learn how they can assist growers in establishing greater flexibility within their farming systems.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will host a two-day industry forum featuring expert speakers from throughout Australia and around the globe who will present information and advice on the options available to growers as they strive for increased productivity, profitability and sustainability.

Southern New South Wales grains industry professionals will gather in Narrandera next month to learn how they can assist growers in establishing greater flexibility within their farming systems.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will host a two-day industry forum featuring expert speakers from throughout Australia and around the globe who will present information and advice on the options available to growers as they strive for increased productivity, profitability and sustainability.

Tasmanian grains industry professionals will join their Victorian counterparts in Ballarat next month to learn how they can assist growers in establishing greater flexibility within their farming systems.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will host a two-day industry forum featuring expert speakers from throughout Australia and around the globe who will present information and advice on the options available to growers as they strive for increased productivity, profitability and sustainability.

The new age of information technology is catching up with the age-old problem of weeds in cropping systems.

Heralding a new era in the provision of information to Australian grain growers, an innovative smart-phone application is being launched today to assist southern cropping region growers in identifying weeds growing on their properties.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation’s Weeds: The Ute Guide application provides growers with a free-of-charge weeds identification service that can be accessed anywhere at any time.

The application is designed to be used in the paddock by growers to assist in identifying the most common annual, biennial and perennial weeds in southern Australia.

GRDC Regional Grower Services’ Manager of Delivery Platforms, Tom McCue, says the weed identification application represents a major advancement in communicating industry knowledge to growers.

“Most grain growers carry a mobile phone with them wherever they go so the GRDC is adapting its information resources to enable growers to have ready access to data and facts when that information is needed most,” said Mr McCue.

Speaking at the application’s launch, which took place during a National Integrated Weed Management Initiative Committee meeting in Adelaide, Mr McCue said the GRDC was planning to convert a number of its popular hard-copy Ute Guides into mobile phone applications.

Flexible farming systems will be the focus of the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) technical research Updates early next year.

The Updates – designed for farm advisers, consultants, researchers, growers and industry specialists – will be held in Ballarat (Victoria) on February 14-15, Adelaide (South Australia) on February 22-23 and Narrandera (New South Wales) on February 28-29.

GRDC Southern Regional Panel chair David Shannon says the series of research Updates will explore the options available to grain growers in establishing more flexibility within their farming systems.

“A line-up of expert speakers has been assembled for each of the Updates to provide advice and insights into practices and research that can influence positive change on grain-producing properties,” Mr Shannon said.

“The grains research Updates also play an important role in equipping industry professionals with the knowledge and resources they need to support their grain grower clients in their preparations and decision-making for the year ahead.”

A new audio compact disc covering new developments in grains research offers growers a great way to help pass the time spent in the header this harvest.

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.