AUGUST GRAIN GRABS

It has been a busy month for GPA, with plenty of opportunities to hear directly from growers, meet with government and keep work moving on some of the practical issues affecting grain businesses.

CEO Duncan Bremner and I met with Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins to discuss the priorities of Australian grain producers. Meetings like this give us the opportunity to put the realities of running a grain business directly in front of government and explain how decisions on workforce, regulation, biosecurity and farm inputs play out on the ground.

I also attended the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia Symposium in Sydney. There is no shortage of new technology being developed for agriculture, but the test is whether it delivers something useful and affordable on farm.

GPA’s work with SPAA and the Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia HERE has consistently shown that growers are interested in automation and precision agriculture. However, cost, connectivity, compatibility and confidence in the return on investment remain genuine barriers. These are the questions the industry needs to keep addressing if new technology is going to move beyond demonstrations and become part of everyday farming.

Duncan and I also spent time at AgQuip in Gunnedah, where we caught up with growers and industry representatives, including NSW Grains Biosecurity Officer Kate Glastonbury. It was timely given the focus on practical farm biosecurity during National Biosecurity Week.

With canola flowering across a number of grain-growing regions, GPA reminded people not to enter crops without the grower’s permission. Flowering canola may make a good photo, but people and vehicles moving through paddocks can spread weeds, pests and diseases. It is a straightforward message, but one worth repeating. HERE

We also used National Biosecurity Week to look beyond the farm gate at Australia’s preparedness for bird flu. While avian influenza is primarily an animal health issue, a major response could affect grain, feed, transport and other parts of the agricultural supply chain.

The grains industry has a role in being prepared and supporting the integrity of the wider biosecurity system. GPA’s position as the grains industry signatory to the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed, and our involvement with Plant Health Australia and the Grains Farm Biosecurity Program, gives us a direct role in that work.

Mice remain another issue we are following closely. Eligibility to purchase 50 g/kg zinc phosphide mouse bait under the emergency permit changed during the month, with access switching off in Western Australia and two areas in South Australia becoming eligible again. HERE

These decisions rely on the mouse activity recorded within GRDC’s Agro-Ecological Zones. It is important that growers and advisers continue monitoring and reporting what they are seeing. The rapid paddock assessment pathway also provides a way to submit local evidence where activity may not be reflected in the wider regional rating.

GPA is also monitoring the risk of Australian plague locust activity across parts of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. As crops develop and harvest approaches, early surveillance and reporting will be important.

Workforce availability is another issue that cannot be left until harvest is on the doorstep. GPA has raised concerns about delays in Working Holiday Maker visa processing and the need for government processes to better account for the seasonal nature of agricultural work. Growers need confidence that workers will be available when they are required, not weeks after the job needs to be done. HERE

In Western Australia, former GPA Chair and Western Region Director Barry Large joined Farmer Mates Mental Health Initiative Ambassador Brad Hogg at Dowerin Field Days as a part of our ongoing program with support from Nufarm. HERE Their visit continued the conversations the initiative has been having with growers and rural communities about mental health and the importance of checking in with mates.

The value of attending events such as AgQuip, Dowerin and the SPAA Symposium is the chance to hear what is working, what is not and where GPA needs to direct its attention. Those conversations, together with our engagement with government, help keep GPA’s national work grounded in what grain producers are dealing with every day.

There is a lot happening across the industry as crops move towards harvest. GPA will continue monitoring the seasonal issues, pursuing the longer-term policy work and making sure grain producers are represented in the decisions that affect them.

Matthew Madden

Grain Producers Australia Chair