Product and service delivery objective:

Deliver products and services to growers in support of their business objectives and within the context of the Australian Government’s stated priorities

Specific farming practice changes

Although the 2006 winter crop produced only about one-third of the tonnage produced in 2005, it has been widely recognised that had a similar season been experienced 30 years ago the impact on the economy and the environment would have been far more dire.

Production in 2006 was relatively better for a number of reasons, including the adoption of management practices that:

• created opportunities for earlier sowing, including
• the targeted use of improved cereal cultivars to suit various situations
• the use of selective herbicides
• enabled better use of limited soil moisture, including
• increased understanding of plant nutrition demand and water use at different growth stages
• improved soil and plant analysis to better match fertiliser supply to plant demand.

Whole-of-portfolio economic analyses

A prospective economic analysis of the GRDC’s investment portfolio was completed at the beginning of the five-year planning period. Results indicated that grains R&D would deliver an overall benefit–cost ratio of 6.6:1, based on conservative assumptions. When account is taken of benefits flowing to off-farm businesses, the benefit–cost ratio increases to 7.8:1. This equates to a net present value of about $3 billion flowing to the wider community through grains R&D over a fifty year period.

Improvement in the performance of the grains industry, measured by ABARE analysis of industry performance across the agroecological zones

The provisional estimate of average farm cash income (total cash receipts minus total cash costs) per farm declined to $33,000 in 2006–07 from $95,100 in 2005–06. This significant reduction in farm cash income is due to the 2006–07 drought.

Relationship management objective:

Build, lead and manage relationships to optimise benefits to stakeholders

Assessment of innovation and flexibility in contractual relationship development with partners, strategic alliances and providers

During the year the GRDC put in place a number of innovative and flexible relationships, including:

• a contractual relationship and investments with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico
• a new working agreement with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) that will allow easier and wider access to ICARDA germplasm for use in breeding programs to establish new varieties for Australian growers
• Arista Cereal Technologies Pty Ltd, a joint venture company with CSIRO and Groupe Limagrain, to deliver high-amylose wheat
• the Australian Winter Cereals Pre-Breeding Alliance, with representatives from state departments, breeding entities and major research partners.

Evidence of intellectual property of significant value generated over the life of Driving Innovation

Over the duration of Driving Innovation, the GRDC developed significant value from its intellectual property through registration of patents, plant breeder’s rights and trade marks.

Patents

The GRDC and related entities filed several national and international patents. The patent titles included:

• Cereal genotyping system
• Use of bifunctional alpha-amylase subtilisin inhibitor promoter to direct expression in the maternal tissue of a plant seed
• Molecular markers for high molecular weight glutenin subunits
• Genetic sequences of plant pathogen avirulence genes and uses thereof
• Antifungal peptides
• Markers for salinity tolerance in wheat plants and the use thereof in breeding programs
• Nucleic acid molecules and their use in plant male sterility
• Anther specific promoters and uses thereof
• Salt tolerant plants
• Tissue specific expression
• Polysaccharide transferase
• Peptides with antifungal activity
• Synthesis of fatty acids
• Insect silks.

Plant breeder’s rights

More than 100 new commercial plant breeder’s rights applications were registered by the GRDC and its research partners. More disease resistant and higher yielding varieties have been developed and have included:

• EGA Bonnie Rock (wheat)
• EGA Eagle Rock (wheat)
• Wyalkatchem (wheat)
• Yitpi (wheat)
• Baudin (barley)
• Flagship (barley)
• Mandelup (narrow-leafed lupin)
• Kaspa (field pea)
• Cairo (faba bean)
• Moti (chickpea)
• Warrior (canola).

Trade marks

Trade marks registered by the GRDC to facilitate the creation of value to the grains industry include ‘Grain and Graze’, ‘GoGrains’, ‘eNIRgy’, and ‘Ute Guide’.

Compliance objective:

Ensure corporate compliance with all statutory and legal requirements

Ongoing endorsement by the Minister of statutory corporate planning and reporting documents

In 2006–07, the Minister endorsed the GRDC Portfolio Budget Statements 2007–08, the GRDC Statement of Intent 2007, the GRDC Strategic R&D Plan 2007–12 and the GRDC Annual Operational Plan 2007–08.