Grains Research and Development Corporation
2016–17 Annual Operational Plan
ABOUT THE GRDC
The
(GRDC) is a corporate Commonwealth entity established to
plan and invest in research, development and extension (RD&E) for the Australian grains industry.
The GRDC’s primary objective is to drive the discovery, development and delivery of world-class innovation to
enhance the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Australian grain growers and benefit the industry and the
wider community.
Its primary business activity is the allocation and management of investment in grains RD&E.
VISION
A profitable and sustainable Australian grains industry, valued by the wider community.
MISSION
Create value by driving the discovery, development and delivery of world-class innovation in the Australian grains
industry.
VALUES
We are committed and passionate about the Australian grains industry.
We value creativity and innovation.
We build strong relationships and partnerships based on mutual trust and respect.
We act ethically and with integrity.
We are transparent and accountable to our stakeholders.
Organisation
Board
The GRDC Board oversees corporate governance, sets strategic direction and monitors the
performance of the GRDC and the Managing Director. The directors have combined expertise in
business management; commodity production, processing and marketing; economics; finance;
management and conservation of natural resources; environmental and ecological matters; R&D
administration; science and technology; technology transfer; communication; and public
administration.
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Advisory panels
The GRDC Board makes decisions with the support of a national advisory panel comprising the
Managing Director, the GRDC’s executive managers, and the chairs of three advisory panels that
cover the northern, southern and western grain-growing regions of Australia.
The regional panels are made up of grain growers, agribusiness practitioners, scientists and
GRDC executive managers, with provision for other industry experts to participate as appropriate.
They develop and monitor local and regional investment priorities, working closely with industry
bodies, including grower groups. They also make sure that GRDC investments are responding to
industry needs and effectively delivering RD&E outputs to growers and advisers.
The GRDC has recently revised its Northern Region boundary so that it now encompasses
Queensland and all of New South Wales and has the highest diversity of crop production.
The region has generally high inherent soil fertility, although there is increasing evidence that this
has been run down over time. It has relatively high seasonal rainfall and production variability
compared to the other two regions.
Both summer and winter crops are important for profit. Yield depends, to a significant degree, on
conservation of soil moisture from summer-dominant rainfall. The Northern Region has the highest
diversity of crop production, including maize, sorghum and soybeans as well as wheat, barley,
winter-growing pulses and oilseeds.
The Northern Region is the largest source of Australia’s premium hard high-protein wheat for
export and domestic use. Demand for feed grains from the region’s important livestock industries is
a key driver of grain production.
The GRDC has recently revised its Southern Region boundary so that it now encompasses South
Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.
It has a diverse suite of soils of generally low fertility and with many subsoil constraints, such as
salinity, sodicity and toxic levels of some elements, although there are also some areas with very
productive soils. Yield potential depends on seasonal rainfall, especially during the growing
season, and there is less dependence on stored soil moisture than in the Northern Region.
Crop production systems are varied and include many mixed farming enterprises with significant
livestock and cropping activities.
The GRDC’s Western Region spans Western Australia’s principal cropping zones where soil
fertility is generally low and yields depend on winter and spring rainfall.
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Long-term variability in seasonal rainfall and production is lower in the coastal areas than in the
Northern and Southern regions.
In many areas, yields are low by world standards; this is compensated for by the large scale and
degree of mechanisation of the enterprises.
Wheat, barley, canola and lupins are the dominant crops, and livestock enterprises in mixed
farming systems are generally of less importance than in the other regions. The Western Region
exports more than 85% of its grain production.
Senior Leadership Group
The Senior Leadership Group leads the GRDC’s business activities and advises the GRDC Board.
It is responsible for implementing strategy, and for managing and evaluating the GRDC and its
RD&E investments.
The Senior Leadership Group is composed of the Managing Director and the executive managers
of the GRDC’s three operational business groups—Research Programs, Commercial, and
Regional Grower Services—and the enabling business functions of Communications and
Corporate Services.
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Representative organisations
The grains industry representative organisations for 2016–17 are Grain Producers Australia and
GrainGrowers. Their role is to:



participate in the development and review of the GRDC’s five-year strategic R&D plan
consider each year’s GRDC annual report and meet with the Board and Senior Leadership
Group to consider R&D-related activities
undertake other R&D-related activities.
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Foreword
2016–17 marks the final annual operational plan against the 2012–17 five-year strategic R&D plan.
This year the GRDC will invest $198.0 million on research for the grains industry—an increase of
approximately 24 percent since the first year that the 2012–17 strategic plan was implemented.
In that time, our operating environment has changed significantly. Grains has grown from an $8.5
billion to a $13.1 billion industry, with continued increasing production forecast over the medium
term. Similarly, the GRDC’s role as the major investor in grains innovation continues to expand.
This is due in part to increasing budgetary pressure on our traditional research partners, but the
GRDC is also expected to play a greater leadership role regionally, nationally and globally. At the
same time the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in RD&E, which has put a
stronger focus on collaboration.
The future profitability of the Australian grains industry is reliant on continued access to worldleading research. The GRDC is committed to maintaining a research portfolio that is responsive to
emerging issues while responsibly investing in future breakthrough technologies. To achieve this,
the GRDC must go through transformational change in its investment analysis and process to
deliver a flexible and responsive portfolio that maximises value provided to the grains industry.
Lately we have sharpened our research focus even further, by boosting our regional capacity
through the opening of offices in key grain‑ growing regions.
We have further refined our research project hierarchy and classifications to ensure that we invest
in the most appropriate balance of strategic research, applied research, development and
validation, and extension across short-, medium- and long‑ term horizons.
In 2016–17, we will invest in research to address key cropping constraints across Australia’s graingrowing regions through coordinated and national initiatives that address water productivity, frost
and heat.
CSIRO estimates that growers are leaving $6.5 billion worth of water in the ground at the end of
the annual crop. Increasing water productivity (the ratio of yield to seasonal water availability) is
one of the key ways to close the yield gap. The goal of the GRDC’s Water Productivity Initiative is
to reduce the exploitable yield gap by a third through improvements in water use efficiency.
We will invest over $13.0 million in frost-related projects under the National Frost Initiative. This
initiative is tackling frost from several angles to deliver growers a combination of genetic and
management solutions with tools and information to better predict frost events.
Heat damage is arguably the most common and most limiting production constraint in Australian
grain crops and annual average economic losses from heat damage in Australian wheat crops are
estimated to be about $1.1 billion. Given that heat stress is a constraint within the Australian
agricultural environment, it is essential that growers use cereal, oilseed and pulse varieties and
management options that enable them to substantially reduce the impact of heat on grain yield.
The National Heat Initiative spans pre-breeding, breeding and agronomy.
As the GRDC continues to deliver against the 2012–17 strategic R&D plan, the ground is being laid
to develop the next five-year strategic R&D plan in concert with further refinements to the
organisational structure of the GRDC. Leading this next phase in the GRDC’s future will be a new
Managing Director, Dr Steve Jefferies. Steve’s extensive commercial experience is well suited to
leading the GRDC’s program of transformation and his understanding of our industry and the
drivers needed for improvement will see the GRDC continue to focus on and deliver increased
benefits to Australia’s grain producers.
Steve Thomas - Acting Managing Director
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Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
8
Planning and reporting
8
Funding
8
Financial outlook
8
Relationships
8
Communication
10
2. INVESTMENT APPROACH
11
Strategy
12
Process
13
Communication and extension
15
Evaluation
15
3. GOALS AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES
17
Theme 1—Meeting market requirements
18
Theme 2—Improving crop yield
21
Theme 3—Protecting your crop
26
Theme 4—Advancing profitable farming systems
31
Theme 5—Improving your farm resource base
36
Theme 6—Building skills and capacity
41
Cross-theme investments
45
Enabling business functions
45
4. ESTIMATED INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
49
Income
49
Expenditure
50
Reserves
52
Payments to representative organisations
53
Expenditure to meet Australian Government research priorities
53
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1. Introduction
Planning and reporting
This annual operational plan sets out the GRDC’s goals, performance measures and budget for
2016–17, the fifth and final year of operations under its Strategic R&D Plan 2012–17. In 2016–17,
the GRDC will invest $198.0 million in research, development and extension (RD&E) projects that
address the priorities and strategies outlined in the GRDC’s five-year strategic R&D plan. The
GRDC’s performance in achieving its planned outcomes and targets will be assessed in the 2016–
17 Annual Report.
Funding
The GRDC is principally funded by a grower levy and Australian Government contributions.
The levy is based on the net farm gate value of the annual production of 25 crops: wheat; coarse
grains—barley, oats, sorghum, maize, triticale, millets/panicums, cereal rye and canary seed;
pulses—lupins, field peas, chickpeas, faba beans, vetch, peanuts, mung beans, navy beans,
pigeon peas, soybeans, cowpeas and lentils; and oilseeds—canola, sunflower, safflower and
linseed.
The levy rate is 0.99 percent of farm gate value, except for maize, which is levied at 0.63 percent
of farm gate value.
The Australian Government matches the levy up to a limit of 0.5 percent of the three-year rolling
average of the gross value of production of the 25 leviable crops.
Other sources, including interest, royalties and grants, contribute a small proportion of the GRDC’s
income.
Financial outlook
The GRDC’s total income in 2016–17 is forecast to be $200.1 million, consisting of:




Australian Government contributions of $68.2 million
levy contributions from grain growers of $114.5 million
grants totalling $1.2 million
other income, including interest and royalties, totalling $16.2 million.
For 2016–17, the GRDC Board has approved an annual operating expenditure of $220.5 million
(which is an increase of approximately 0.4 percent compared to the 2015–16 expenditure budget).
The GRDC is estimating an operating loss in 2016–17. This loss will be funded by the GRDC’s
accumulated financial reserves.
Part 4 of this document provides details of the estimates of GRDC income and expenditure for
2016–17. The figures are indicative only. Changes in the GRDC’s operating environment may
require the corporation to vary the total expenditure or specific allocations to secure its objectives.
Relationships
The GRDC works closely with Australian grain growers and the Australian Government, to ensure
that their RD&E priorities are effectively addressed through GRDC investments. The GRDC also
maintains strong relationships with its other stakeholders, particularly in the R&D and agribusiness
sectors.
Effective partnerships with other Australian organisations enable the GRDC to leverage resources
and research capability; share market knowledge, technologies and intellectual property; and
reduce the risk associated with particular investments.
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The GRDC also builds strong relationships with organisations overseas, both to broaden the
resources available to the Australian grains industry and to access international RD&E efforts that
offer potential benefits, such as food security, for the wider Australian community.
Collaboration
Collaboration is at the heart of the GRDC’s approach to adding value to the Australian grains
industry. The majority of the GRDC’s investment in RD&E is with partners that co‑ fund the work
and conduct many of the activities. Examples include government agencies; cooperative research
centres, universities and other research organisations, including rural R&D corporations;
commercial plant breeders and seed companies; agricultural companies and advisers; and grain
marketers, exporters and end-users.
Australia’s R&D investment is only a small part of the global effort, so the GRDC collaborates with
public and private research organisations overseas to access new technologies and intellectual
property that would otherwise be unavailable to Australia. As the largest single Australian investor
in broadacre agricultural RD&E, the GRDC is well placed to build links between the Australian
research sector and the best research being undertaken around the world. Notable examples
include the GRDC’s longstanding strategic alliances with the International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
(ICARDA) and the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
More recently, the GRDC became one of 12 funding partners in the International Wheat Yield
Partnership. The initiative will coordinate global investment and research in wheat genetics,
genomics, physiology, breeding and agronomy, with an ambitious long-term aim of achieving
increased wheat yield.
Commercial partnerships
While the GRDC is a major investor in the development of new technologies benefitting Australian
growers, most GRDC investments are made with one or more partners. Historically, GRDC
investment partners have been public institutions such as state governments, CSIRO and
universities. Increasingly, however, investment partners include a mixture of large, medium and
small enterprises.
The recent five-year agreement with Bayer CropScience to discover and develop innovative weed
management solutions is a tangible result of the GRDC’s ability to develop large-scale commercial
partnerships. The major aim is to provide growers with new technologies to manage herbicideresistant weeds and support the sustainability of modern crop production systems.
Investment partnerships with the private and public sectors are both desirable and necessary, as
they can bring together complementary skills, supply market knowledge and access to proprietary
technologies, and reduce the risk to the GRDC in the funding of new technologies through the
provision of independent financial resources.
While the most usual path to market for commercial research products arising from GRDC
investment will be through licensing to suitable partners, investments in joint ventures and
companies to deliver the products are also considered, based on the merits of business cases that
demonstrate delivery of the best outcome for growers and the wider grains industry.
The changing R&D investment environment will see the GRDC’s engagement with private sector
investment and commercial activities increase in 2016–17, especially in relation to genetics,
engineering and crop protection technologies. The GRDC will also continue to seek access to
research and new technology for product development to assist the Australian grains industry as
opportunities and needs arise.
Communication
The GRDC continually seeks to enhance communication exchange to and from the corporation, to
assist stakeholders to adopt new uses and sources of timely, relevant grains information. The
curation and integration of effective information sources for growers is a key priority. Mechanisms
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that are growing in importance include online integrated information packages, such as
GrowNotes, and the GRDC’s social media presence.
New tools add value to existing mechanisms such as the GRDC’s Regional Cropping Solutions
networks, which provide essential on-the-ground linkages between growers, farming systems
groups, agribusiness and researchers. These networks and their appointed facilitators link growers’
local RD&E needs with the nation’s agricultural researchers in a streamlined, targeted and
responsive way, and enable the GRDC, through its regional panels, to proactively respond to
regional issues in a timely manner. The Grower Solutions Groups in the Northern Region play a
similar role.
Direct communication with growers and their advisers is also facilitated by the GRDC’s advisory
panels and managers of grower services in the Northern, Southern and Western regions.
The GRDC also exchanges information and ideas with growers through Grain Producers Australia
and GrainGrowers, the grains industry’s representative organisations as defined under the Primary
Industries Research and Development Act 1989, and a wide range of representative bodies such as
farming systems groups and state farmers’ organisations. Representative groups for particular
industry sectors also liaise with the GRDC, through the National Agribusiness Reference Group.
The GRDC works closely with its portfolio department, the Department of Agriculture and Water
Resources, and interacts with various federal and state government agencies.
Other opportunities to communicate with the GRDC include:






personal contact, through field days, forums, conferences and other activities
stakeholder surveys and market research
GRDC-supported education and training channels, such as grains research updates,
conferences and technical workshops
GRDC smartphone and tablet applications
the GRDC website and YouTube channel
GRDC accounts on social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The GRDC also conducts roadshows to ensure that industry partners and other interested parties
are well informed about new developments, initiatives and processes conducted by the
corporation.
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2. Investment approach
Figure 1: Strategic framework and planned outcomes for RD&E investments
GOVERNM
ENT AND
INDUSTRY
OBJECTIV
ES
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT OBJECTIVES
Primary Industries Research and
Development Act 1989
Science and
Research
Priorities
Increased economic, environmental
and social benefits to members of
primary industries and to the
community in general by improving
the production, processing, storage,
transport or marketing of grain.
Food.
Sustainable use and management of
natural resources.
Resources.
More effective use of the resources
and skills of the community in general
and the scientific community in
particular.
Development of scientific and
technical capacity.
INDUSTRY OBJECTIVES
Rural
Research,
Development
and Extension
Priorities
Advanced
Soil and water. technology.
Biosecurity.
Transport.
Cybersecurity.
Energy.
Soil, water and
managing
natural
resources.
Advanced
Adoption of
manufacturing. R&D.
Environmental
change.
Grains Industry
National Research,
Development and
Extension Strategy
2014
Better varieties—to lift Meeting
productivity and value. market
Improved practices— requirements.
to enhance
productivity and
sustainability.
Supply chain
innovation and market
competitiveness.
Building skills
and capacity.
Improved accountability for
expenditure on R&D activities.
Intermediat  Understandin
e outcomes g market
(5 years)
opportunities
for Australian
grain.
 Crop and
variety
selection
aligned with
market
requirements.
 Crop
production
aligned with
market
requirements.
 Grain harvest
and storage
practices
aligned with
market
requirements.
 Genetic yield
potential and
stability
improvement of
cereal varieties.
 Genetic yield
potential and
stability
improvement of
pulse varieties.
 Genetic yield
potential and
stability
improvement of
oilseed varieties.
 Effective, sustainable and
efficient management of
weeds.
 Effective, sustainable and
efficient management of
vertebrate and invertebrate
pests.
 Effective, sustainable and
efficient management of
cereal rusts.
 Effective, sustainable and
efficient management of
cereal (non‑ rust), pulse and
oilseed fungal pathogens.
 Effective, sustainable and
efficient management of
nematodes.
 Effective, sustainable and
efficient management of
viruses and bacteria.
 Biosecurity and pesticide
Protecting
your crop.
Improving
your farm
resource
base.
Health.
1.
2.
3. Protecting your crop
Meeting
Improving crop
market
yield
requirements
Improving
crop yield.
Advancing
profitable
Building farm business farming
and industry capability. systems.
Development of the adoptive capacity
of grain growers.
GRDC
RD&E
INVESTME
NT
THEMES
Industry
priorities
4.
Advancing
profitable
farming
systems
5.
Improving
your farm
resource
base
6.
Building skills
and capacity
 Knowing
what is
important
(key business
drivers).
 Planning
strategically
(building
system
benefits and
rotations).
 Responding
tactically
(individual
crop
agronomy).
 Understandi
ng and
adapting to
climate
variability.
 Improving
soil health.
 Managing
water use on
dryland and
irrigated grain
farms.
 Understandi
ng and valuing
biodiversity.
 Communicat
ion of
sustainable
production
methods.
 Grains
industry
leadership and
communication
.
 Capacity
building in the
extension
sector.
 Capacity
building in the
R&D sector.
 Capacity
building for
grain growers.
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stewardship.
Aspirationa Australian
l outcomes grain growers
(10+ years) maintain and
increase
access to
current and
future grain
markets by
aligning onfarm
production
practices with
quality and
functionality
requirements.
Cereal, pulse
and oilseed
varieties with
significant,
sustained and
stable
improvements in
water-limited
yield potential
over current elite
varieties in key
agroecological
zones and
across a range
of seasons.
Australian grain growers
managing their farms to
maximise profit and reduce
risk by adopting effective
control of weeds, pests and
diseases.
Australian
grain growers
managing
farming
systems that
are able to
respond and
adapt to
changing
environmental
and market
conditions to
reduce risk
and deliver an
increase in
profitability.
Grain growers
valued for
adopting
practices that
improve
regional
habitat, soil,
water and
atmosphere
resources in a
changing
climate.
A dynamic
Australian
grains industry
with the skills
and capacity to
continuously
innovate.
GRDC
CORPORA
TE
STRATEGI
ES
Create value
GRDC
OUTCOME
Australian grain growers utilising new information and products that enhance the productivity, profitability and
sustainability of growers and benefit the grains industry and wider community.
GRDC
VISION
A profitable and sustainable Australian grains industry, valued by the wider community.
Coordinate nationally Deliver regionally
Connect globally
Engage with growers
and industry
Strategy
This annual operational plan addresses outcomes identified in the GRDC’s Strategic R&D Plan
2012–17. The strategic plan provides a template to ensure that the GRDC invests in RD&E in a
sustainable manner, balancing long-term and short-term, high-risk and low-risk, and strategic and
adaptive research needs, over a five-year period. In 2016–17, the GRDC will develop a new fiveyear plan to commence on 1 July 2017.
The Strategic R&D Plan 2012–17 is informed by consultation with grain growers, research partners
and other stakeholders. It embraces the principles, strategies and implementation plan set out in
the Grains Industry National Research, Development and Extension Strategy, and takes into
account cross-sectoral national research strategies in areas such as climate change; water use in
agriculture; soils; and biosecurity.
In particular, the strategy addresses the identified priorities of Australian grain growers and the
Australian Government.
The core priorities identified in consultation with growers are embodied in the GRDC’s six strategic
themes for RD&E investment. The Australian Government’s priorities have evolved since the plan
was published, and are now expressed in the Science and Research Priorities announced in May
2015 and the Rural RD&E Priorities announced in July 2015.
Figure 1 illustrates how the priorities of key stakeholders flow through a coherent structure of
investment and corporate strategies that enables the GRDC to achieve tangible outcomes for the
Australian grains industry.
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Process
The GRDC’s process for making and assessing RD&E investments for 2016–17 comprises six key
steps, as outlined in Figure 2 and described in the following sections.
The RD&E investment process for future years, based on a continuous investment cycle, will be
detailed in the 2017–18 Annual Operational Plan.
Figure 2: Investment process
GPA = Grain Producers Australia, RCS = Regional Cropping Solutions
Step 1—Identification of priorities
Throughout the year, the GRDC improves its understanding of grains industry RD&E priorities for
the year ahead. Potential issues are identified through:





interaction with growers, advisers and other industry participants, through Regional Cropping
Solutions network activities such as grower updates, adviser updates, forums and field days
consultation with the GRDC regional panels, representative organisations, researchers, state
farming organisations and the national and regional agribusiness reference groups
evidence from project reviews, project progress reports and survey results
identification of gaps in the investment strategies underlying each of the GRDC’s six themes
consideration of the Australian Government’s Science and Research Priorities and Rural RD&E
Priorities.
All priorities are looked at as potential areas for investment in future investment cycles. Initial
suggested high-level resource allocation for the year ahead of the current financial year is reported
to the representative organisations, in the form of a draft stakeholder report. Final resource
allocations at the theme level are recommended to the GRDC Board in April of the following
calendar year.
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Step 2—Investment Planning Week
In July/August, GRDC managers and regional panel members meet to discuss issues and
investment areas that address gaps in investment strategies and the priorities identified through
engagement with stakeholders.
GRDC managers then develop ‘mini prospectus’ proposals for new RD&E projects and existing
projects that are due to be reviewed for further investment. The mini prospectus outlines the
project’s aims, deliverables and approximate budgets. Each proposal is categorised as a national
investment or a regional investment.
The proposals are ranked by GRDC managers, taking into account the relevant five-year strategic
R&D plan. The GRDC’s National Panel makes recommendations for resource allocation to frame a
high-level budget. Based on procurement recommendations made during Investment Planning
Week, the annual external investment plan (for the next financial year) is formulated.
Step 3—Call for tenders
The external investment plan is released in August. Investment proposals identified as suitable for
competitive tender are published in the plan in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement
Rules. Tenders are evaluated against specific selection criteria to determine the preferred
provider(s).
The GRDC usually invests in partnership with the organisations that will deliver the RD&E. This
means that most project investment is a combination of GRDC funding and research provider
investment.
Step 4—Contracting
The contracting of projects for the next financial year begins after the Board gives preliminary
approval to theme allocations in September.
Step 5—Status, progress and gap review meeting
In March, GRDC managers and regional panel members meet to review and formalise the
investments for the forthcoming financial year. During this meeting:






Progress on the status and development of new investments agreed to during Investment
Planning Week is reviewed.
The resources being contributed to each project by the research partner(s) are assessed.
Progress in the contracting of projects is reviewed.
Actual investment that will occur in the next financial year is refined in line with the high-level
budget.
Investments and refinements to budget are reflected in the drafts of the annual operational plan
and stakeholder report.
Strategic gaps are assessed, along with priorities for investment identified through engagement
with stakeholders, to scope potential investments for later financial years.
Step 6—Assessment of reports
Also in March, annual progress reports on continuing investments are received and assessed by
GRDC managers, in terms of both the project’s status against contract milestones and the quality
of the report. The assessment process identifies issues for GRDC managers to follow up.
Payments are made to research partners for projects that have good quality progress reports and
are on track to meet milestones and achieve contract outputs.
Final reports are assessed for quality of reporting and achievement of contract milestones and
outputs at the end of each project (this usually occurs in September).
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Communication and extension
To realise the greatest benefit from its RD&E investments, the GRDC undertakes a range of
activities to raise awareness of grains industry R&D and extend the results of GRDC-supported
projects to grain growers, industry and the wider community.
Recognising that across industry there are different needs and preferences for receiving
information, the GRDC uses a range of products and channels, including media; publications; the
GRDC website and YouTube channel; and direct electronic distribution.
Building on the awareness generated by its communication activities, the GRDC supports the
adoption of improved techniques and technology through a multifaceted approach to extension.
Science writers are engaged to develop material that translates complex technical information into
forms that can be applied on farm, and the GRDC invests in events, field trials, training, decisionmaking tools and new technologies to connect growers and advisers to the outcomes of R&D.
Evaluation
Throughout the life of the Strategic R&D Plan 2012–17, the GRDC will measure, evaluate and
report on the progress being made in achieving the aspirational and intermediate outcomes of
each of the six investment themes. The GRDC also continually assesses the performance of its
RD&E programs and projects, including their impact on the Australian grains industry and the wider
community, and regularly reports to stakeholders.
Strategic performance measures
The GRDC has developed a ‘monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement’ plan for each
investment theme. Each plan includes a set of key evaluation questions that, when tested, enable
the Board and GRDC stakeholders to assess the progress made in relation to the theme. For each
question, the plan identifies performance indicators and sources of data that underpin the
evaluation.
Results of the ongoing performance measurement are used to alter the investment mix where
required, and to make improvements in the management of RD&E investments in order to achieve
the outcomes as effectively and efficiently as possible.
The annual operational plan also sets out indicators that are used to measure the GRDC’s
performance in delivering the outcomes of its investment themes and meeting its organisational
objectives. Progress towards achieving those performance measures and targets is recorded
through formal reporting arrangements, such as the annual report and the growers’ report.
Impact assessments
Each year, the GRDC undertakes impact assessments that focus on ongoing programs within the
themes developed for the five-year plan, as well as evaluations of completed projects.
The impact assessment methodology uses a triple-bottom-line framework and is consistent with
the Impact Assessment Guidelines released in 2014 by the Council of Rural Research and
Development Corporations.
Stakeholder surveys
The GRDC’s stakeholder surveys are designed to evaluate attitudes towards the GRDC and its
performance as a research partner and investor in grains RD&E activities.
A grower survey is conducted each year to help the GRDC to assess and improve its performance,
particularly in terms of ensuring that research outcomes are being communicated effectively to
growers. The survey obtains detailed feedback from 1,200 growers across Australia, covering the
GRDC’s three production regions and key agroecological zones.
A research partner survey is conducted periodically to provide the GRDC with an evaluation of
research providers’ perspectives on their relationships with the GRDC, determining key areas of
15
strength and weakness and identifying areas of potential improvement. A total of 300 interviews
with researchers, supervisors and administrators are conducted across Australia, using Computer
Assisted Telephone Interviews. A series of 18 in-depth interviews are also conducted with senior
people within the research sector to facilitate a high level of discussion on partnership issues and
ensure that the information collected highlights areas which respondents consider to be significant.
16
3. Goals and performance measures
17
Theme 1 Meeting market requirements
This theme describes the framework for the GRDC’s investments in grain quality and functionality
to help growers maintain and expand access to markets.
Australia’s domestic and international customers seek a consistent supply of grain that is both:


a quality product that is compliant with statutory and customer-specific requirements
a functional product that performs reliably for the desired end use.
To deliver highest value to growers, the GRDC must understand the requirements and the
dynamics of current domestic and export markets for feed and food grains, and those of likely
future markets.
Through the ‘Meeting market requirements’ theme, the GRDC interacts closely with participants in
the Australian grains value chain to better understand market requirements, particularly for quality
and functionality, to enable growers to maintain or increase access to current markets and secure
access to new higher valued markets.
Aspirational outcome (10+ years)
Australian grain growers maintain and increase access to current and future grain markets by
aligning on-farm production practices with quality and functionality requirements.
Intermediate outcomes (5 years)
Understanding market opportunities for Australian grain—Acquisition and interpretation of
information about market requirements, trends and opportunities, in order for the GRDC to make
informed RD&E investment decisions and to assist grower decisions.
Crop and variety selection aligned with market requirements—Growers use market
information to select crop, variety and cropping sequence that addresses their profit and risk.
Crop production aligned with market requirements—Growers use information on appropriate
in-crop management to maximise the potential of delivering grain that meets the quality and
functionality requirements of the intended customer.
Grain harvest and storage practices aligned with market requirements—Growers adopt
harvest and storage practices to maximise their potential to deliver grain that meets the quality and
functionality requirements of the target market.
2016–17 budget
$8.7 million
Performance targets
Table 1 shows the 2016–17 targets for each major practice change for Theme 1—Meeting market
requirements.
Table 1: Theme 1 intermediate outcomes, practice changes and performance targets for
2016–17
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
Understanding market opportunities for Australian grain.
The GRDC establishes relationships with the value chain and
regulatory authorities to access information about market
requirements, trends and opportunities.
 A GRDC-supported project provides strategic oversight and
coordination of grain protection chemicals.
 Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre joint venture is
18
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
established and operating appropriately.
The GRDC makes greater use of information on current and
potential future markets to guide investment decisions.
 The Grains Industry Market Access Forum (GIMAF) works
with industry and government to provide foundational
documents on use of chemicals and contamination of grain
with weed seeds and diseases, to facilitate ongoing and new
market access.
Crop and variety selection aligned with market requirements.
A greater proportion of growers and advisers use market
information to inform crop and variety selection.
 Through GIMAF, the National Working Party on Grain
Protection, and the GRDC’s Minor Use Program and
Pathways to Registration Project, growers are made aware of
access requirements for major markets.
Increased interaction between grains industry participants
 The GRDC provides information on crop quality and market
(growers, pre-breeders, breeders and value chain participants) access requirements to key industry stakeholders.
and regulatory authorities creates awareness of the quality and
functionality market access requirements.
Breeders and pre-breeders use market information to deliver
varieties that meet the requirements of current and future
markets.
 Independent wheat variety classification is maintained.
 GRDC-supported projects provide market information to
breeders and pre-breeders through a combination of
workshops, field days and research updates which supports
the delivery of varieties to meet current and future market
requirements.
Crop production aligned with market requirements.
A greater proportion of growers and advisers use relevant
market information to inform decisions about in-crop
management practices.
 GRDC-supported projects provide growers with agronomy
and farming systems management packages that assist them
to achieve grain quality requirements of target markets.
A greater proportion of grain growers adjust pest, weed and
disease management practices to meet market requirements.
 Growers use information contained in GRDC-supported
products to manage weeds, pests and diseases to ensure that
grain meets market requirements.
Grain harvest and storage practices aligned with market requirements.
A greater proportion of growers use harvesting strategies that
maximise the opportunity to meet the requirements of their
target market.
 Growers are aware of harvesting strategies to maximise
grain quality.
A greater proportion of growers are aware of the quality and
 Through a combination of workshops, social media and
functionality of the grain delivered to their customer or entering publications, growers are made aware of opportunities to
contract storage.
increase grain quality and functionality.
 90% or more of growers are aware of and interested in the
benefits of measuring grain quality.1
A greater proportion of growers use storage practices to meet
market requirements and provide for the continued
effectiveness of pest control measures.
 GRDC-supported projects provide information to growers on
controlling pests of stored grain.
 At least 70% of growers storing grain on farm use sealed
silos.1
The GRDC uses market access information to provide growers  GRDC-supported projects develop and communicate
with the harvest and storage management packages and tools harvest strategies and on-farm grain storage techniques to
to comply with market requirements.
comply with market requirements.
1 This key metric is a program performance measure in the Agriculture and Water Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17.
This may vary from the key metric published in the 2012–2017 Strategic R&D Plan.
19
Investment highlights
This section provides a few examples of major RD&E investments that illustrate the GRDC’s focus
on ‘Meeting market requirements’ in 2016–17.
Expanding market options for sorghum
Sorghum is well adapted to a wide range of conditions and situations and is currently a major
component of cropping in the Northern Region. However, the value derived from sorghum is limited
by the perception that it is usable only for feed, and even as such it is valued less than winter
cereals or maize because its starch is less readily digestible.
To achieve better benefits from the grains industry’s investment in improved sorghum genetics and
agronomy, the GRDC is supporting research to identify opportunities in food and beverage markets
to achieve higher returns for sorghum.
Providing strategic oversight and coordination of grain protection chemicals
The ability to use grain protectants and fumigants is of utmost importance to the grains industry, as
grain must be free of live insects to meet market demands and regulatory requirements. Because
of its climate, Australia is particularly reliant on chemicals for use in the storage of grain, and needs
to ensure that the international processes for the registration of such chemicals are extremely
efficient.
Identified maximum residue limits (MRLs) allow for the presence of specified levels of post-harvest
chemical residue in grain for trade. If no MRL exists for a particular grain–chemical combination, no
residue is permissible. The loss of MRLs for grain protectants and fumigants used to manage
stored-grain insects would have very serious implications for on-farm storage and international
trading.
The GRDC is investing in strategic oversight to ensure that the Australian grains industry complies
with international registration requirements for grain storage protectants and fumigants.
Facilitating grains industry market access
The Grains Industry Market Access Forum works with industry and government to identify and
prioritise market access issues important to the grains industry, and to strategically manage and
resolve those issues through communication and relationship management. This includes
implementing an agreed work plan with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to
manage priority market access issues on an ongoing basis or as they arise.
The GRDC provides advice to GIMAF. In 2016–17, this will include advice on current best
management practices for insects, weeds and diseases; the distribution of biotic threats; and
projects on establishing MRLs for agricultural chemicals.
20
Theme 2 Improving crop yield
This theme describes the genetic approaches and associated tools and technologies that can be
applied to produce varieties with increased water-limited yield potential (WLYP).
The WLYP of a variety is the maximum yield attainable when the variety is grown under average,
rain-fed conditions without the limiting impacts of nutrient deficiency, soil toxicity, weed
competition, insect damage and disease.
Although the actual yield that is captured on farm depends on a grower’s ability to manage the
biotic and abiotic factors that contribute to yield losses (and the cost limitations of management
practices), WLYP is genetically determined.
Plant breeders aim to continually improve the WLYP of crops through new varieties. However, for
many crops, continued improvements in genetic yield potential and stability are becoming harder to
realise.
The ‘Improving crop yield’ theme focuses on the delivery of new crop varieties with demonstrable
improvements in genetic yield potential and yield stability. Given the wide range of farming
environments and crop choice, targets will be crop specific and region specific.
Aspirational outcome (10+ years)
Cereal, pulse and oilseed varieties with significant, sustained and stable improvements in waterlimited yield potential over current elite varieties in key agroecological zones and across a range of
seasons.
Intermediate outcomes (5 years)
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of cereal varieties—Growers access and
increase production of adapted cereal varieties with a significant yield potential and stability
increase over current elite varieties.
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of pulse varieties—Growers access and
increase production of adapted pulse varieties with a significant yield potential and stability
increase over current elite varieties.
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of oilseed varieties—Growers access and
increase production of adapted oilseed varieties which continue to meet target oil levels with a
significant yield potential and stability increase over current elite varieties.
2016–17 budget
$38.2 million
Performance targets
Table 2 shows the 2016–17 targets for each major practice change for Theme 2—Improving crop
yield.
Table 2: Theme 2 intermediate outcomes, practice changes and performance targets for
2016–17
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of cereal varieties.
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of pulse varieties.
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of oilseed varieties.
21
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
Breeders and industry pre-breeders increase their level of
collaborating to identify and prioritise traits, tools and
germplasm requirements to support target gains in yield
potential and stability.
 Strong interactions between researchers and breeders are
defining germplasm requirements and breeding tools within
the:
 Crown Rot Initiative
 National Barley Foliar Pathogen Variety Improvement
Program
 Pulse Molecular Marker Program
 National Brassica Germplasm Improvement Program.
 New cereal varieties have minimum yield increases
equivalent to 1% per annum as measured in National Variety
Trials (NVT).1
 New pulse varieties have minimum yield increases
equivalent to 2% per annum as measured in NVT.1
 New oilseed varieties have minimum yield increases
equivalent to 1.5% per annum as measured in NVT.1
Increased number of pre-breeders develop priority traits in
 Pre-breeding research provides germplasm and selection
breeder-defined genetic backgrounds, and ready-to-implement tools to accelerate the development of improved varieties of
selection tools to drive rapid adoption by breeding programs.
pulses with increased yield, disease resistance and herbicide
tolerance.
 A cost-effective diagnostic screening method is developed to
assist barley-breeding programs to eliminate the undesirable
blue aleurone trait from breeding lines with acid soil tolerance.
 Pre-breeding targets are identified for genetic sources of
heat tolerance and resistance to crown rot in barley.
 Genetic diversity in wheat is exploited by importing selected
lines from international germplasm collections and screening
them for increased reproductive frost tolerance.
 Genetic diversity in chickpeas is exploited by importing wild
Cicer lines from Turkey and screening them for increased cold
tolerance, improved nematode resistance and superior
adaptation traits.
Increased number of breeders and pre-breeders use accurate
data analysis methods to interpret yield potential, stability and
environmental data that inform selection for target production
environments.
 Statistics for the Australian Grains Industry outputs are used
to design and analyse experiments and trials, to increase
efficiency and ensure consistent and reliable data, in many
GRDC projects, including the National Frost Initiative, the
National Barley Foliar Pathogen Variety Improvement Program
and all projects conducted at managed environment facilities.
 All Australian wheat breeders collaborate with Statistics for
the Australian Grains Industry to implement advanced
biometric methods within their breeding programs.
Growers and their advisers have greater access to and make
greater use of accurate, regionally relevant yield potential and
stability data to choose an improved variety.
 The GRDC Grower Survey shows continued increases in the
proportions of growers who say that:
 new varieties met their expectations well or very well
 NVT information helped them to choose varieties to adopt.
 New varieties currently available meet the expectations of at
least 60% of growers.1
 40% of growers and their advisers use the NVT online data
or attend an NVT field day, and of these 90% consider that the
information obtained helped them in deciding which varieties
to plant.1
1 This key metric is a program performance measure in the Agriculture and Water Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17.
Investment highlights
This section provides a few examples of major RD&E investments that illustrate the GRDC’s focus
on ‘Improving crop yield’ in 2016–17.
Crown rot in wheat
Crown rot in cereals can affect grain quality and cause severe yield losses—as high as 90 percent
in durum wheat and 50 percent in bread wheat. Despite gains in resistance and tolerance and the
availability of improved management options, crown rot remains the single biggest limiting factor to
22
wheat production in the Northern Region, and an increasingly important issue in the Southern and
Western regions.
The development of wheat varieties with effective genetic resistance or tolerance to crown rot has
significant potential to reduce yield losses. With GRDC support, the national Crown Rot Initiative
has generated much momentum in the development of genetic material with resistance and
tolerance. That momentum will be captured in 2016–17 by work to pyramid multiple sources of
partial resistance and tolerance into adapted backgrounds and make them available to Australian
wheat breeders.
The initiative has also identified challenges to the delivery and adoption of new sources of
tolerance and resistance, including limitations on the reliability and efficiency of current
phenotyping methods for use in pre-breeding and commercial breeding applications. In 2016–17,
work will be undertaken to improve phenotyping strategies and deliver reliable, repeatable and
robust phenotyping methods to breeders and pre-breeders. As well as improving the accuracy and
efficiency of pre-breeding activities, this will increase the likelihood of improved traits being
adopted by commercial breeding programs and eventually released to Australian growers.
Work will also be undertaken to improve molecular strategies for identifying genetic regions for
crown rot resistance and tolerance. This will include confirming the validity of quantitative trait loci
(QTL) detected in field tests, and determining their effects in multiple genetic backgrounds. The
research will also aim to refine the markers for four known resistance QTLs, allowing them to be
more efficiently deployed in commercial breeding applications.
Foliar diseases in barley
Fungal foliar diseases cause serious losses of yield and grain quality in barley—it is estimated that
foliar diseases (excluding rust) cost Australian barley growers around $110 million each year in the
10 years to 2009. With GRDC support, the National Barley Foliar Pathogen Variety Improvement
Program aims to improve growers’ options for avoiding such losses through genetic sources of
disease resistance.
The program is working to provide barley breeders with new genetic material and knowledge that
will assist them to develop varieties that have effective resistance across Australia and across
several diseases. This involves identifying the best sources of resistance to different strains of five
diseases—net form net blotch, spot form net blotch, scald, powdery mildew and barley yellow
dwarf virus—and establishing effective mechanisms for screening for those sources in breeding
materials. New sources of resistance will be tested in elite Australian breeding lines.
Additional experiments are being conducted to examine the evolution of new strains of foliar
diseases and the role of wild grasses in perpetuating those diseases. This will improve
understanding of how long resistances may last and how cropping systems may be managed to
prolong the lives of effective resistances. Plant toxins produced by the fungi that cause the
diseases are also being investigated.
The development and release of barley varieties with improved resistance to foliar disease will
enable growers to reduce their use of fungicide and increase their adoption of stubble retention
strategies, creating a cleaner, greener environment, while improving productivity. Better informed
monitoring of the development of new strains of disease will assist industry to reduce risk to
commercial varieties and assist growers to minimise losses.
Heat tolerance in wheat
Heatwaves have been a significant cause of losses in Australian wheat production, particularly in
the Northern Region, over several decades. The frequency and the extent of Australian heatwaves
are expected to increase as a consequence of ongoing global climate variability.
High-yielding wheat cultivars that have superior tolerance to high temperatures, especially during
critical stages of development such as flowering and early grain growth, could help to moderate the
negative effects of heatwaves, significantly improving yield and profitability during the heatwave
years and contributing to the overall sustainability of farming systems.
23
Since 2012, the GRDC has been supporting a project to identify wheat germplasm with superior
tolerance to short periods (one to three days) of temperatures exceeding 35° Celsius. A
combination of experimental approaches to impose high temperatures, in the glasshouse and in
the field, are used to compare a range of materials thought to possess high-temperature tolerance
traits. This includes work at the controlled environment field facility at Narrabri, New South Wales,
which provides a unique ability to conduct tests under extremes of high temperature without the
unpredictability of natural weather events.
The testing includes benchmarking against commercial wheat varieties widely grown in the
Northern Region. Seed set, seed size and seed yield are measured as primary indicators of
temperature tolerance, and the most promising materials are also assessed for stability of grain
quality.
In 2016–17, the project will evaluate grain functionality in the materials that have displayed the
greatest tolerance to high-temperature stress. This will provide an understanding of possible tradeoffs between performance and yield in high-temperature tolerant germplasm.
Flowering time in wheat
For a crop to achieve maximum yield with screenings, protein, properties, markings and defects
within acceptable limits for receival standards, its flowering time must coincide with optimal
environmental conditions. The GRDC is supporting a project to assist wheat breeders to
understand and harness the genetic mechanisms that control flowering time, in order to design
more efficient breeding strategies for particular grain-growing regions and select flowering
behaviours suited to particular practices—long-season wheats for early sowing, for example.
The project uses DNA diagnostic techniques to assay variations in key genes that control flowering
behaviour, then uses traditional plant-breeding techniques to introduce different variations into
wheat lines from a common parent. This process generates lines that are genetically almost
identical (near-isogenic) but have different flowering behaviours. The near-isogenic lines are used
to identify the optimal flowering behaviours for specific management strategies and to examine the
interactions between flowering and other traits, such as yield.
Ultimately, mutations are triggered in current elite wheat varieties to generate new varieties that
have the successful traits of the parent lines along with flowering behaviour adapted to a new
purpose, such as a different growing region or a different sowing date.
Since the project commenced, the genes controlling flowering behaviour have been assessed in
approximately 1,500 Australian wheat lines and relevant results have been provided to breeders for
use in selecting parents for new breeding lines. Approximately 100 near-isogenic lines have been
produced, and promising novel mutants of current elite Australian wheats have been isolated. Work
in 2016–17 will include trials of an early-flowering version of the popular winter wheat Wedgetail,
in regions where the original Wedgetail is typically too slow to flower.
Genetic diversity in chickpeas
The ‘Mediterranean’ climate zones of the Southern and Western regions have strong potential to
significantly increase production of chickpeas, Australia’s most valuable pulse export and a
profitable legume option for crop rotations. However, those zones also pose adaptive challenges
such as terminal drought; low temperatures during flowering and podset; and salinity and low pH
(particularly in Western Australia).
Genetic solutions to such challenges could accelerate the spread of chickpeas throughout
Mediterranean Australia, but chickpea breeding is constrained by limited genetic and adaptive
diversity. The GRDC is funding the development of a collection of diverse wild Cicer lines that are
related to and inter-fertile with domestic chickpea breeding material, creating unprecedented
opportunities for variety improvement.
The project aims to strengthen chickpea-breeding efforts and act as a model for the exploitation of
wild genetic resources, by:
24



collecting genetic resources to widen the habitat range and genetic diversity of existing
collections
phenotyping traits relevant to adaptation to Mediterranean conditions
coordinating phenotyping, genotyping and population development projects in Australia and
Turkey, and linking them with R&D collaborations involving Canada, Ethiopia, India and the
United States.
The project is currently focused on collecting wild lines to augment the extremely limited world
collections of C. echinospermum and C. reticulatum, which have only 10 and 18 original
accessions respectively. The project has surveyed nine C. echinospermum and 38 C. reticulatum
populations and collected more than 500 new lines.
The new accessions will be studied for stress, disease and pest tolerance, and lines suitable for
use in variety improvement will be made available to breeders. Field and laboratory studies testing
for tolerances to nematodes, cold, heat and drought are underway in Turkey, and testing of
material imported from Turkey to Australia will begin in 2016.
25
Theme 3 Protecting your crop
This theme aims to develop cost-effective control options that prevent pests, weeds and diseases
from causing crop yield and quality losses, and increase growers’ profit.
Existing control measures for pests, weeds and diseases require ongoing review in light of:






potential and actual incursions of exotic pests
changes in regulation of pesticide use and access
the need to
reduce the cost and increase the speed of delivery of resistant and tolerant varieties
manage herbicide and pesticide resistance
provide ongoing stewardship of gene technology and pesticide products to support long-term
access.
The ‘Protecting your crop’ theme develops the cultural, chemical and genetic options available to
manage key pests, weeds and diseases in each region. Management options need to take into
account cost-effectiveness, resilience of control strategies and flexibility to fit different farming
systems.
Aspirational outcome (10+ years)
Australian grain growers managing their farms to maximise profit and reduce risk by adopting
effective, sustainable and efficient control of weeds, pests and diseases.
Intermediate outcomes (5 years)
Effective, sustainable and efficient management of weeds—Growers use a combination of new
genetic, biological, cultural and chemical weed management tools to reduce crop losses and
minimise control costs.
Effective, sustainable and efficient management of vertebrate and invertebrate pests—
Growers use a combination of new genetic, biological, cultural and chemical tools to reduce crop
losses and minimise control costs of vertebrate and invertebrate pests.
Effective, sustainable and efficient management of cereal rusts—Growers use a combination
of new genetic, cultural and fungicide management tools to reduce crop losses and minimise
control costs of cereal rusts.
Effective, sustainable and efficient management of cereal (non-rust), pulse and oilseed
fungal pathogens—Growers use a combination of new genetic, cultural and fungicide
management tools to control cereal (non-rust), pulse and oilseed root and foliar fungal diseases.
Effective, sustainable and efficient management of nematodes—New genetic, biological and
cultural management tools for the control of nematodes are delivered.
Effective, sustainable and efficient management of viruses and bacteria—Growers use a
combination of new genetic and cultural management tools for the control of viruses and bacteria.
Biosecurity and pesticide stewardship—Effective biosecurity and science-based support is
available for pesticide and genetic technology stewardship.
2016–17 budget
$51.9 million
Performance targets
Table 3 shows the 2016–17 targets for each major practice change for Theme 3—Protecting your
crop.
26
Table 3: Theme 3 intermediate outcomes, practice changes and performance targets for
2016–17
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
Effective, sustainable and efficient management of:
weeds
vertebrate and invertebrate pests
cereal rusts
cereal (non-rust), pulse and oilseed fungal pathogens
nematodes
viruses and bacteria.
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers monitor
crops for pests, weeds and diseases.
 Regular monitoring of weeds, insects, snails and slugs and
diseases, and targeted monitoring of red-legged earth mite
and glyphosate-resistant weeds, are conducted in each region.
Breeders and pre-breeders use available genetic diversity for
resistance and tolerance breeding.
 New herbicide-tolerant chickpea and field pea varieties are
available to growers.
 Breeders have access to markers to select for greater
tolerance to crown rot in barley.
Growers and their advisers cost-effectively manage pests,
weeds and diseases.
 The adoption of harvest weed seed management has
increased by 50% in the Northern and Southern regions.
 Improved knowledge of the biology and ecology of snails and
slugs allows growers to better target management tactics,
including chemical, physical and biological control methods.
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers use
practices to increase pesticide longevity and reduce the risk of
resistance.
 The GRDC 2016 Grower Survey shows increases in the
proportions of growers who say that they have:
 heard of integrated management practices for weeds, pests
or diseases
 adopted integrated management practices on their farms.
 More than 70% of growers are aware of integrated weed,
pest or disease management practices, and 50% use some
form of integrated management methods on their farm.1
Biosecurity and pesticide stewardship.
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers use
surveillance and biosecurity measures to manage and prepare
for incursion and containment of exotic plant pests, plants and
diseases.
 At least 50% of growers undertake on-farm practices to
maintain or improve their biosecurity.1
 The GRDC 2016 Grower Survey shows an increase in the
proportion of growers or advisers who say that they have used
surveillance and biosecurity measures to manage and prepare
for incursion and containment of exotic plant pests, plants and
diseases.
Breeders and pre-breeders use available genetic diversity to
deliver varieties resistant to high-risk biosecurity threats.
 Current Australian germplasm is assessed for tolerance to
wheat blast.
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers manage
stewardship of pesticides and varieties to prolong pesticide
effectiveness and ensure safety to health and the
environment.
 The GRDC 2016 Grower Survey shows an increase in the
proportion of growers who say that they have undertaken
activities to delay the onset of or manage herbicide resistance
in weed populations.
 90% of growers undertake activities to delay the onset of or
manage herbicide resistance in weed populations.
1 This key metric is a program performance measure in the Agriculture and Water Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17.
Investment highlights
This section provides a few examples of major RD&E investments that illustrate the GRDC’s focus
on ‘Protecting your crop’ in 2016–17.
27
Diamondback moth in canola
Diamondback moth (DBM) is an occasional but serious pest of canola, in all grain-growing regions,
with the ability to rapidly develop insecticide resistance. Outbreaks of DBM have become more
frequent and severe in recent years, as a result of milder, dryer winters and increased resistance to
the established insecticide options.
To assist growers to reduce DBM-associated costs and losses, the GRDC is supporting a project
to facilitate the registration of new DBM insecticides and devise a robust strategy for insecticide
resistance management.
In collaboration with the potential registrants, the project will generate field efficacy datasets to
facilitate the preparation of Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority registration
packages for two new insecticides. An insecticide resistance management strategy, ideally
including three or four synthetic insecticides and Bacillus thuringiensis products, will be devised in
consultation with stakeholders.
The work will include screening for resistance in strains of the common DBM species Plutella
xylostella collected in the field across Australian canola regions. The findings will be used to
reassess the risk profiles of specific DBM products. In addition, the project will examine the biology
of a recently discovered second species of DBM, P. australiana, and assess any implications it
may have for risk mitigation measures.
By the end of 2017, the project will deliver a strategy, tools and information to equip canola
growers to control DBM strains that are resistant to current pesticides.
Emerging weeds in the Southern and Western regions
In the Southern and Western regions, as farming systems, crop management practices and climate
conditions are changing, several weed species are emerging as sources of significant costs and
yield losses to grain growers. The GRDC is investing in research to better understand the key
emerging weed species and provide growers with effective tools for managing them.
Fleabane (Conyza species), feathertop Rhodes grass (Chloris virgata) and windmill grass (Chloris
truncata) are increasing in population in the Southern Region, particularly along fence lines and
roadsides, while tar vine (Boerhavia species), sowthistle (Sonchus species) and button grass
(Dactyloctenium radulans) are increasing in the Western Region. Through surveys, laboratory tests
and field studies, the project will investigate the incidence, density, and emergence and dormancy
patterns of these species. The results will be used to develop control tactics, including chemical
and non‑ chemical methods.
As well as becoming increasingly common, barley grass (Hordeum species), brome grass (Bromus
species), Indian hedge mustard (Sisymbrium orientale) and wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum)
are becoming increasingly resistant to a broad range of herbicide modes of action. New tactics for
the control of herbicide-resistant species will be developed through field experiments. Surveys and
field work will also be conducted to assess the extent of glyphosate-resistant weeds on roadsides
and field margins and the risks that such weeds will move into crop paddocks.
New knowledge and tools for controlling weeds, including cultural, chemical and crop
competitiveness approaches, will enable growers to improve profitability and help to slow the
spread of weed species and development of herbicide resistance.
White grain disorder in wheat
Since it was first recorded in Australia—in Queensland in 1999—white grain disorder has been
identified in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. It has caused
significant costs to wheat growers as a result of yield loss and downgrading or rejection of grain.
Varietal resistance is potentially one of the key management options for white grain disorder.
However, the effectiveness of variety improvement has been constrained by the fact that field
screening trials do not reliably develop symptoms of the disease, because its expression depends
28
on a combination of above average rainfall and high humidity conditions during flowering and grain
fill.
The GRDC is supporting a project to develop an efficient and reliable resistance-screening
methodology for white grain disorder, based on artificial inoculation under controlled conditions.
The research will compare ways of producing the fungi that cause the disease and ways of using
them to inoculate plants, to develop efficient and reliable methods for achieving high levels of
infection. Methods of preparing plants for inoculation and rating them for resistance will also be
compared, to develop a reliable, high-throughput screening method.
By improving understanding of the factors that affect the expression of white grain disorder, the
project will also facilitate the implementation of management practices that reduce disease
expression. New approaches and resources made possible by this research are expected to
reduce the proportion of grain rejected due to white grain disorder by 90 percent by 2020.
Surveillance and diagnostics of exotic pests
Being prepared for the threats posed to crops by exotic pests and diseases protects the livelihoods
of grain growers and assists the grains industry meet its obligations under the Emergency Plant
Pest Response Deed, a binding agreement between Australian governments and plant industry
bodies.
Surveillance and diagnostics are the two major activities that support preparedness for exotic plant
pest incursions. However, there are few effective, scientifically validated methodologies for
determining whether crops are free of pests and pathogens. There are also critical gaps in
nationally endorsed diagnostic tests for high-priority pests.
The GRDC is supporting a project to develop better tools for detection and diagnosis, including a
range of options for surveillance systems based on sensing and imaging. Current research
includes:



video monitoring of snail and slug movement
an in-field, fully automated system for spore and insect trapping and reporting
drone imaging to assist in phenotyping the incidence of disease in field experiments.
The project is also developing molecular tests for diagnosing exotic viruses in cereals; so far, more
than 2,000 cereal plants have been collected and tested. Diagnostic protocols for two soil-borne
cereal viruses have been established. Other diagnostic methods under investigation include a field
test using LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) technology, and plant genome
sequencing.
The outcomes of the project will improve the effectiveness of Australia’s biosecurity framework as
well as the grains industry’s ability to quickly respond to and recover from any incursions of exotic
crop pests or pathogens.
29
Theme 4 Advancing profitable farming systems
This theme aims to provide growers and their advisers with the tools to design and manage a
farming system with the flexibility to adapt and respond; manage risk; and generate profit.
The ‘Advancing profitable farming systems’ theme:



ensures that research results from the other themes are integrated on farm
undertakes production agronomy research for systems development
provides an important conduit for identifying on-farm production constraints and opportunities
to inform activities in other themes.
The investment strategies for this theme differ across agroecological zones and farming systems,
and are a combination of:


applied farming systems research to overcome major, widespread regional constraints
short-term development and extension activities to improve technologies or practices for a
target group of growers in an agroecological zone.
Aspirational outcome (10+ years)
Australian grain growers managing farming systems that are able to respond and adapt to
changing environmental and market conditions to reduce risk and deliver an increase in
profitability.
Intermediate outcomes (5 years)
Knowing what is important (key business drivers)—Identification and understanding of the
opportunities, risks and potential impacts of key farming practices in each agroecological zone is
improved.
Planning strategically (building system benefits and rotations)—Growers adopt integrated
management of opportunities and constraints to increase profit and minimise risk across seasons
(above the five-year rolling average).
Responding tactically (individual crop agronomy)—Gross margin generated from the major
crops in each agroecological zone is increased.
2016–17 budget
$37.9 million
Performance targets
Table 4 shows the 2016–17 targets for each major practice change for Theme 4—Advancing
profitable farming systems.
30
Table 4: Theme 4 intermediate outcomes, practice changes and performance targets for
2016–17
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
Knowing what is important (key business drivers).
Information is available in each GRDC agroecological zone
about the main opportunities, constraints, and risks to farming
systems.
 Growers are able to quantify the gaps between potential and
actual yields for wheat at the statistical local area scale and for
different decile years.
 The GRDC receives information at least annually via the
regional panels.
Data is also available in each zone about how whole-farm and
farming system decisions affect those opportunities,
constraints and risks.
 Soil moisture measurement information, including estimation
methods and system design conceptualisation, is conveyed at
major regional forums.
 Published benchmarks allow growers to compare wheat yield
to crop nitrogen status, to determine the size of yield gaps and
measure the nitrogen status of crops as affected by sowing
date, fertilisation and variety.
Better methods and tools are developed for comparison and
ranking of the impacts of opportunities and risks on farm profit
and sustainability, both short and long term.
 Data is available quantifying the nitrogen status of 15 wheat
varieties at two National Variety Trials sites in South Australia.
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers use
information and tools to identify and rank constraints and
opportunities to increase profit.
 Key issues and information gaps identified during updates
are analysed.
 70% of growers place a high importance on the use of
decision tools to assist them with strategic or tactical decision
making.1
Planning strategically (building system benefits and rotations).
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers are aware of
the actual and potential impacts of their management on their
farming systems across seasons and across the farm, based
on regionally validated data as well as their own records.
 The capacity of growers and consultants to characterise soils
for plant-available water content and measure soil water
availability is increased.
 Research, development and extension work related to
stubble-retained farming systems in south-eastern Australia is
collated and analysed.
Growers implement long-term, strategic plans to take
 Increased numbers of growers are optimising their cropping
advantage of identified opportunities, manage constraints and systems in response to both opportunities and constraints.
reduce risks, while retaining flexibility to respond to unforeseen
events.
 More than 25% of growers have developed a whole-farm
business plan which takes account of strategic opportunities,
constraints and risks.1
Effective management practices for opportunities, constraints
and risks are developed, validated and demonstrated in each
agroecological zone.
 Strategic decisions and practices are tested, validated and
demonstrated in each agroecological zone, and captured in
regionally relevant publications on best management practice.
Responding tactically (individual crop agronomy).
An increased proportion of growers use crop-specific best
 Growers have access to regionally relevant publications on
management practices to optimise their tactical (within season) best management practice.
agronomy for each individual crop.
 Technical guidelines for canola growers in all commonly
experienced grain-growing environments of Western Australia
have been developed and relevant fact sheets have been
published.
Growers use improved strategies to cost-effectively acquire
crop inputs.
 Best practice guidelines and locally relevant variety-specific
agronomy packages for wheat and canola in southern irrigated
cropping systems have been developed and published.
31
1 This key metric is a program performance measure in the Agriculture and Water Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17.
Investment highlights
This section provides a few examples of major RD&E investments that illustrate the GRDC’s focus
on ‘Advancing profitable farming systems’ in the year ahead.
Forecasting and mitigating extreme temperature events
Production lost due to extreme temperature events is a major cost to the grains industry across
Australia. Frost events currently cost Australian growers around $360 million in yield losses each
year, while extreme heat events cost more than $1.5 billion.
Crop management options, such as variety selection and sowing time, can mitigate the effects of
extreme temperature. However, it is difficult to factor extreme frost or heat events into crop
management strategies—they typically occur at a point in the cropping cycle after key decisions
have been made and inputs have been committed.
The GRDC is supporting research to investigate whether the likelihood of frost or heat events can
be forecast with sufficient skill at the start of the grain season to assist growers to hedge against
possible damage and minimise losses.
The project is assessing the weather conditions that give rise to frost and heat events, and the
ability of existing seasonal models to forecast those conditions and events. A cropping model will
be used to evaluate the usefulness of seasonal forecasts in shaping cropping decisions that could
reduce losses from such events.
The research will provide growers and advisers with a better understanding of the causes of
extreme temperature events, as well as detailed information on the skill and utility of frost and heat
forecasts and guidelines for their use in cropping decisions.
Using Yield Prophet with POAMA seasonal forecasts
Yield Prophet is a user-friendly modelling tool that provides targeted guidance for individual farms
on critical management decisions such as fertiliser application rates. Using the Agricultural
Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM), Yield Prophet draws on local soil information and seasonto-date climate data to simulate crop development to the present time. It then estimates the
eventual crop yield outcomes for a range of management decisions by running APSIM with a
forecast of future climate conditions.
Currently, Yield Prophet implements a simple climate forecasting system that uses the Southern
Oscillation Index as the basis for choosing similar years from the past as indicators of the likely
finish to the present season. The GRDC is supporting a project to enhance the effectiveness of
Yield Prophet’s modelling by incorporating forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology’s Predictive
Ocean Atmosphere Model for Australia (POAMA).
In order to use POAMA forecasts to shape cropping decisions, the model forecasts must be
calibrated to remove any long-term bias without altering the skill of the model. The project is
developing a method to match long-term forecast behaviour with long-term observations for
important variables: rainfall, temperature and radiation. In initial tests, the method gave suitable
forecast input for APSIM and Yield Prophet at eight test sites covering the grain-growing areas of
southern Australia from west to east.
As well as incorporating the POAMA forecasts into the existing modelling tool, the project is
developing simplified versions of Yield Prophet that will be cheaper and easier to use. These
advances are expected to encourage growers to engage with Yield Prophet and experience the
benefits of APSIM as a decision support tool.
Benchmarking yield against nitrogen use in wheat
Despite the significance of nitrogen inputs to the productivity and profitability of cropping, there is
no effective benchmark to assess whether cropping systems are getting the maximum benefit for
32
their investment in nitrogen fertiliser. Currently, yield–nitrogen relationships are the main reference
for fertiliser guidelines. However, yield–nitrogen relationships vary with soil, crop and seasonal
conditions, and do not fully account for the physiology of the crop.
Research has shown a tight loop between crop biomass and nitrogen content: nitrogen uptake
stimulates growth and biomass stimulates nitrogen uptake. Therefore, comparisons of nitrogen
status based on yield can be misleading in cases where development of biomass has been
affected by factors other than nitrogen, such as sowing date or variety.
This problem can be addressed by developing a ‘nitrogen dilution curve’ for each variety. This
curve shows the minimal concentration of nitrogen in shoots that is required to achieve maximum
growth at each point as the plant’s biomass increases. A crop’s nitrogen status can be assessed
by dividing the actual nitrogen concentration of the crop at a given biomass by the critical nitrogen
concentration for that biomass as shown in the curve.
The outcome is the ‘nitrogen nutrition index’. If a crop’s nitrogen nutrition index is 1, its nitrogen
concentration is at the critical level and growth is optimal. An index smaller than 1 means that the
crop is nitrogen deficient, while an index higher than 1 means that nitrogen is being consumed
without contributing to growth.
The GRDC is supporting a project to develop nitrogen dilution curves for current wheat varieties.
Trials are being conducted using four varieties under five nitrogen application rates, in rain-fed and
irrigated conditions. An additional trial is being conducted to assess how time of sowing may affect
crop nitrogen status. Benchmarks to assist growers and advisers to match nitrogen inputs to crop
demands will be available by the end of 2017.
The nitrogen nutrition index method removes much of the uncertainty related to soil and seasonal
conditions which affects conventional crop diagnostics. New benchmarks will help improve
diagnosis and management of fertiliser needs in growers’ cropping systems and National Variety
Trials, bringing benefits to farming practices and variety evaluations.
Developing landscape-specific sowing recommendations to increase yield
Because frost risk depends on geographic factors such as slope, aspect and elevation, farms and
fields often have a range of zones which vary in frost risk. By choosing specific sowing dates and
cultivars for each zone, a grain grower may be able to maximise total yield potential over the whole
farm.
In particular, some colder areas could be sown much earlier to maximise yield potential without
being affected by frost risk. However, variation in temperature also affects crop development—
plants in colder parts of the landscape develop more slowly. The GRDC is supporting research to
test the concept that knowledge of landscape-related geographic variation in temperature can be
used to develop landscape-specific recommendations for sowing times that maximise the yields of
particular cultivars.
Although data models can capture the yield effects of cropping decisions, the implications of
landscape-related temperature variation have not been analysed, as climate stations collecting
relevant data are often some distance from the fields where specific cultivar and sowing date
information is used. The GRDC-supported project will also assess the capacity to develop
landscape-adjusted temperature records that enable data models to produce recommendations for
cultivar–sowing date combinations that maximise grain yield and account for frost risk across the
landscape.
33
Theme 5 Improving your farm resource base
This theme is focused on protecting and enhancing the farm’s soil, water, habitat and atmospheric
resources to maintain production performance under a variable climate and to demonstrate to
consumers and the wider community the sustainable nature of Australian grains production.
Australian grain growers operate in a variable climate and will be significantly affected by climate
change. In addition, growers will need to react to Australian Government and international policies,
programs and market expectations set in response to climate change—for example, in relation to
greenhouse gas emissions.
These impacts need to be understood so that the industry can minimise risk and maximise
opportunities. The issues of climate variability and change need to be factored into both seasonal
and longer term farm business decisions.
Within the context of a changing climate, soil, water, habitat and atmospheric resources need to be
improved across the environment in which the industry operates. Soil carbon is declining in many
grains catchments, as is soil pH. Although water consumption by agriculture is being reduced and
becoming more efficient, water quality in some key catchments requires further management.
Native vegetation communities have become highly fragmented, affecting both biodiversity balance
and the potential for exploitation as habitat for beneficial organisms.
In addition, as consumers are becoming more interested in how the food they buy is produced, the
grains industry needs to be able to communicate its commitment to good stewardship. The
‘Improving your farm resource base’ theme will assist growers, across the industry and as
individual producers, to demonstrate that they are using chemicals and fertiliser wisely and caring
for the land.
Aspirational outcome (10+ years)
Grain growers are valued for adopting practices that improve regional habitat, soil, water and
atmosphere resources in a changing climate.
Intermediate outcomes (5 years)
Understanding and adapting to climate variability—Farm business plans provide the flexibility
to respond to the risks and opportunities of a changing and variable climate.
Improving soil health—Soil health is improved and soil, nutrient and chemical losses are
reduced.
Managing water use on dryland and irrigated grain farms—Water-use efficiency, quality and
availability are improved on dryland and irrigated grain farms that manage the risk of off-farm
impacts, including soil, nutrient and chemical run-off, and dryland and irrigated salinity.
Understanding and valuing biodiversity—Biodiversity is managed on farm for ecosystem
services (such as habitat, amenity, pollination and profitability).
Communication of sustainable production methods—Markets and the broader community
recognise the environmental credentials of grain farm businesses.
34
2016–17 budget
$10.6 million
Performance targets
Table 5 shows the 2016–17 targets for each major practice change for Theme 5—Improving your
farm resource base.
Table 5: Theme 5 intermediate outcomes, practice changes and performance targets for
2016–17
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
Understanding and adapting to climate variability.
Growers integrate weather data with other resource inputs to
predict, plan and assess farm performance.
 Growers factor into their long-term planning the potential
effects of climate change.
Growers use improved seasonal forecasts and tools to
manage their farm business in response to climate variability.
 A range of farming system options to respond to climate
variability and change are developed and tested for each
major grain-growing region.
Growers seek information about the possible impacts of longterm climate changes on crop growth patterns and adopt
enterprise and crop decisions and agronomic practices
required to optimise profit and manage risk.
 Increased number of growers use seasonal forecasts, local
climate data and decision tools to help predict and plan likely
crop and farming system performance, and in their tactical
(seasonal) decisions.
 60% of growers consider the potential effects of climate
change on their farm business when making long-term
decisions.1
Growers seek information about potential mitigation strategies
to reduce on-farm greenhouse gas emissions, and adopt them
where feasible.
 Increased number of growers are aware of their farms’
greenhouse gas emissions profiles and are adopting
appropriate mitigation strategies.
Researchers incorporate farm-scale data in the improvement
of climate and weather modelling.
 On-farm weather data is provided to the Bureau of
Meteorology, especially in Western Australia.
Improving soil health.
Growers adopt agronomic practices that improve the chemical,  Increased number of growers regularly measure the health
physical and biological health of the soil for sustained
(productive capacity) of their soils and incorporate the
productivity.
information into their land use and cropping decisions.
 70% or more of growers undertake activities to improve the
condition and productive capacity of their soils.1
Growers understand and manage the impact of farming
practices on soil health in order to maintain or increase
productive potential.
Growers increase the extent and quality of ground cover to
improve soil health and minimise loss.
 Growers are aware of and are adopting management
practices that will maintain and improve their soils’ productive
capacity and minimise losses due to erosion.
 Increased proportion of growers retain crop residues and
other forms of ground cover.
Managing water use on dryland and irrigated grain farms.
Growers manage water quantity and quality on farm to
improve efficiency of water use.
 Increased number of growers regularly measure soil
moisture to set target yields and determine optimum levels of
crop inputs (including irrigation water).
Growers implement appropriate and efficient practices that
minimise adverse impacts on surface and groundwater quality
leaving the farm.
 Increased number of growers assess groundwater levels to
avoid the risks of waterlogging and salinity.
 Increased number of growers test the quality of water used
35
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
 At least 65% of growers use nutrient budgeting to better
match application with anticipated crop needs.1
on farm (including for stock or for spraying) and of water
leaving the farm.
Understanding and valuing biodiversity.
Growers and their advisers recognise the potential benefits of
biodiversity in the landscape to their farming systems.
Growers understand the likely effects of alternative land use
decisions based on sound data, and use this to make
assessments of land capability and use.
 Growers develop and adopt vegetation management plans
for their farms to assist crop production (e.g. through
maintaining beneficial insects or using windbreaks), or to
access additional sources of farm income (e.g. from
agroforestry or carbon farming).
 Growers use vegetation plans to assist in identifying and
conserving areas of native vegetation important for local or
regional biodiversity, production benefits, or farm amenity.
Growers integrate the management of vegetation with high
biodiversity value to meet farm business objectives (e.g.
managing frost, providing shelter, accessing emerging carbon
markets, managing salinity, applying area-wide integrated pest
management or maintaining lifestyle objectives/farm
aesthetics).
Communication of sustainable production methods.
 Increased number of growers adopt quality assurance,
environmental management systems or other stewardship
approaches to assist them in meeting market requirements,
enhance their recognition as producers of quality products,
and meet community expectations of sustainable land use.
 Growers are aware of and actively participate in catchment
Growers communicate their responsible use of farm inputs and management plans and programs.
the natural resource base to the broader community.
Growers recognise themselves as sustainable food producers
rather than bulk commodity producers.
Growers understand, calculate and communicate the carbon
and water footprint of the products they produce.
1 This key metric is a program performance measure in the Agriculture and Water Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17.
This may vary from the key metric published in the 2012–2017 Strategic R&D Plan.
Investment highlights
This section provides a few examples of major RD&E investments that illustrate the GRDC’s focus
on ‘Improving your farm resource base’ in 2016–17.
Managing nutrients to improve soil fertility and profitability
The efficient use of nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and
micronutrients, is a major determinant of a crop’s profitability. The cost and effectiveness of
fertiliser inputs—grain growers’ largest single production expense—are major factors in that
efficiency, but successful nutrient management also relies on the capacity of soils to supply
nutrients and the ability of crop plants to take up nutrients and use them efficiently.
Through the More Profit from Crop Nutrition program, the GRDC has invested in a suite of projects
to optimise growers’ return on investment in fertiliser inputs.
The program has been working to:

make enhanced breeding materials available to assist breeders to improve the nutrient use
efficiency of particular crops
36


understand how to better match nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur inputs with crop
needs, make better use of micronutrients to enhance yield, and reduce the proportion of
nutrients that is lost or locked up in soil and unavailable for plant uptake
develop a lasting resource of data and evidence-based knowledge on nutrient management, as
well as practical tools and advice to assist growers to make effective fertiliser and crop
management decisions.
While continuing to work on R&D, in 2016–17 the program will focus on delivering previous results
to growers and advisers. Guidelines for soil testing and other nutrient management activities will be
provided for each of the three GRDC regions, along with a range of extension and training
activities tailored for local needs.
Maintaining wheat productivity and quality under elevated carbon dioxide
Global increases in levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could benefit Australian wheat
growers, as elevated levels of carbon dioxide have a ‘fertiliser effect’ that can significantly increase
the growth and yields of dryland crops.
However, research at the Australian Grains Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (AGFACE) facility
has shown that elevated carbon dioxide levels also lead to lower protein concentration in wheat,
reducing the grain’s nutritional and bread-making qualities and therefore its commercial value.
AGFACE research has also found a relationship between elevated carbon dioxide and increased
damage from barley yellow dwarf virus and the aphid that hosts it.
The GRDC is supporting a project to investigate the potential to reverse the protein reduction
process through selection of genetic traits and nitrogen management strategies that increase grain
nitrogen. Three wheat traits—rooting dynamics, nitrogen use efficiency and grain protein
enhancement—will be tested under different approaches to the mode, amount and timing of
nitrogen application.
Barley yellow dwarf virus and its host aphid will also be studied, in glasshouse and field
experiments, to better understand the mechanisms by which elevated carbon dioxide contributes to
increased severity of pest and disease damage.
By its conclusion at the end of 2016–17, the project aims to provide pre-breeders, breeders and
growers with at least three trait options and at least three nitrogen management options to reverse
reductions in grain protein, and a starting point for further research on limiting damage from barley
yellow dwarf virus, to enable the industry to optimise the potential yield benefits of elevated carbon
dioxide.
Maintaining profitable farming systems with retained stubble
Australian grain growers have the highest rate of adoption of conservation agriculture practices,
including stubble retention, in the world. Maintaining higher yields through improved stubble
management is necessary for both the profitability of growers and the long-term sustainability of
the soil resource that underpins the prosperity of growers and rural communities.
As part of a stubble retention initiative, the GRDC is supporting a collaboration between CSIRO
and 10 grower groups in the Southern Region, to fill knowledge gaps in three key areas of
successful stubble management:


Nitrogen management. Much existing knowledge of soil nitrogen is based on research using
incorporated or burnt stubble residues—less is known about the fate of nitrogen in retained
surface residues or standing stubble. The project is using nitrogen-15 isotope tracers to follow
the fate of nitrogen, and collaborative field experiments and modelling to develop improved
nitrogen management strategies.
Herbicide-resistant weeds. Managing weeds in stubble-retained systems can be costly and
challenging. The project is investigating the impacts of various management practices on seed
banks for problem weeds, including barley grass, brome grass and ryegrass.
37

Emerging pests. Snails, slugs, earwigs, slaters and millipedes are emerging as problem pests
in stubble-retained systems. A network of grower experiments has been established to build
understanding of the importance and behaviours of insect pests and develop improved pest
management strategies.
The initiative will provide growers in the Southern Region with up-to-date, evidence-based
guidelines on managing nutrition, weeds and pests to raise and maintain profitability in stubbleretained cropping systems. The initiative is also collating information on such systems, including
growers’ experiences of crop rotation, crop establishment, diseases, and harvest and crop residue
management.
38
Theme 6 Building skills and capacity
This theme is focused on generating leadership, innovation and education in the grains sector.
To compete and succeed internationally, the Australian grains industry needs a highly skilled and
motivated workforce, including growers, advisers, researchers and managers. The industry has
identified several critical challenges:






the grains industry and farming are becoming increasingly complex, with many types and
sources of information that growers need to make decisions
the number of appropriately skilled researchers and advisers being trained to replace the
current generation is inadequate—this is compounded by a large number of experienced
people reaching retirement age
agricultural careers are not traditionally attractive to potential candidates
the grains industry lacks a whole-of-industry approach to building skills and capacity
growers are time-poor and face succession-planning challenges
the uptake of technology often requires substantial technical support.
Through the ‘Building skills and capacity’ theme, the GRDC has identified opportunities to focus its
investment to address these challenges.
Aspirational outcome (10+ years)
A dynamic Australian grains industry with the skills and capacity to continuously innovate.
Intermediate outcomes (5 years)
Grains industry leadership and communication—The Australian grains industry has the
leadership and communication capacity to proactively engage with the broader Australian
community.
Capacity building in the extension sector—Australia has a skilled agricultural extension sector
with access to appropriately skilled people.
Capacity building in the R&D sector—Australia has world-class R&D personnel with the
appropriate skills to meet current and future needs of the Australian grains industry.
Capacity building for grain growers—Growers recognise the benefits to their businesses of
acquiring additional skills and knowledge and hence the value of their participation in training and
continuous learning.
2016–17 budget
$7.4 million
Performance targets
Table 6 shows the 2016–17 targets for each major practice change for Theme 6—Building skills
and capacity.
39
Table 6: Theme 6 intermediate outcomes, practice changes and performance targets for
2016–17
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
Grains industry leadership and communication.
An increased number of industry participants are engaged in
regional and national leadership roles in the Australian grains
industry.
 At least three Nuffield scholars are from the grains industry
each year.1
 Leadership positions within the grains industry can be filled
with minimal delay by candidates who have the skills,
knowledge and experience required.
 GRDC-supported leadership courses are fully subscribed,
with participants drawn from across Australia’s grain-growing
regions.
The grains industry communicates information about potential
career opportunities to secondary and tertiary students and
their parents and career advisers.
The GRDC is satisfied that this goal is now better serviced by
a range of other providers, building on GRDC investments
made earlier in the life of the Strategic R&D Plan 2012–17.
The GRDC continues to deliver general support through
activities across its research, development and extension
(RD&E) portfolio but has determined that specific investments
are no longer required.
The grains industry publicises how it benefits the wider
community.
 Stakeholders’ recognition of wider community benefits
delivered by the GRDC is improved.
Capacity building in the extension sector.
The extension sector collates and publishes annually its skills
requirements and identifies gaps and potential gaps in
discipline areas.
The GRDC is satisfied that this goal is now better serviced by
a range of other providers, building on GRDC investments
made earlier in the life of the Strategic R&D Plan 2012–17.
The GRDC continues to deliver general support through
activities across its RD&E portfolio but has determined that
specific investments are no longer required.
Increased number of people enrol in targeted agriculturerelated disciplines.
The GRDC has reassessed the importance of directly
investing to boost enrolments in agriculture-related disciplines
and determined that indirect support through its engagement
of the extension sector in RD&E investments provides
sufficient stimulus to achieve this practice change. The GRDC
acknowledges the lead role of agribusiness employers in this
area.
Increased number of qualified graduates are employed in
extension roles.
 The grains industry has access to suitably qualified and
experienced extension personnel.
Increased number of graduates and other extension staff
undertake post-graduate/workplace training.
 An increased number of undergraduates successfully
complete training and professional development courses
focused on GRDC RD&E.
Career pathways within the extension sector retain skilled and
experienced personnel.
 Opportunities are created for extension sector personnel
through the GRDC’s regional and local investments.
Capacity building in the R&D sector.
The grains industry has a clear understanding of its skills
requirements in the short, medium and long terms.
 The GRDC, in collaboration with RD&E providers, regularly
communicates its anticipated future requirements for skilled
personnel.
Training providers address the grains industry RD&E skills
gaps in innovative and flexible ways.
 The grains industry and RD&E providers maintain or
increase the skills and capacity available, in line with the
Grains Industry National Research, Development and Extension
Strategy.
40
PRACTICE CHANGES AND KEY METRICS
TARGETS
Capacity building in the R&D sector. (continued)
RD&E providers work with the grains industry to develop
improved measures of RD&E performance.
 RD&E providers comply with the requirements of the
GRDC’s investment process.
 An increased proportion of GRDC investments are subjected
to pre‑ investment business case analysis and post-investment
economic and statistical analysis.
Capacity building for grain growers.
Growers recognise the additional knowledge and skills they
need to fully understand, adapt and adopt the outputs of
RD&E and optimise their benefits.
 An increased number of growers regularly use the support of
skilled advisers to assist with cropping and business decisions.
Growers and their advisers participate in relevant training and
skills development and apply the knowledge gained to on-farm
decisions and practices.
 An increased proportion of growers and advisers undertake
further education, training and skills development to enable
them to make better use of RD&E outputs and increase
profitability and/or sustainability.
 At least 75% of growers and advisers undertake at least one
activity each year to learn more about opportunities to improve
farm profit or sustainability.1
Growers apply skills on farm to increase profitability and
sustainability.
 An increased proportion of growers are changing or intend to
change practices as a result of participating in GRDC
extension and training activities.
1 This key metric is a program performance measure in the Agriculture and Water Portfolio Budget Statements 2016–17.
This may vary from the key metric published in the 2012–2017 Strategic R&D Plan.
Investment highlights
This section provides a few examples of major RD&E investments that illustrate the GRDC’s focus
on ‘Building skills and capacity’ in the year ahead.
eXtensionAUS
eXtensionAus provides an interactive online framework for sharing agronomic research outcomes
and other information. It is designed to cut across state and regional boundaries and provide
current, objective, research-based guidance for any user, at any time, on any device and in any
location. The system resources are being developed through a partnership between the GRDC
and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.
Using the system resources, the GRDC, in partnership with the state governments of New South
Wales and Victoria and the United States-based eXtension Foundation, is supporting the operation
of two learning networks in the areas of crop nutrition and field crop diseases. These networks
bring together researchers, extension practitioners, agronomists and grain growers from across
Australia.
Each network provides a communication hub and peer review services to deliver the latest
research-based information to growers and advisers. Participation by a community of practice,
including public and private sector specialists and industry organisations, encourages crossfertilisation of research and innovation.
The eXtensionAus software platform delivers a range of products and services using a mix of
custom applications and freely available technologies such as YouTube, Twitter, Google and other
social media services. Features include tools to manage the community of practice, educational
tools, collaborative publishing tools, a question-and-answer tool that allows people to discuss their
specific issues with subject experts, and the ability to post questions and comments about
published content.
41
In 2016–17, GRDC investment in eXtensionAus will focus on consolidating and expanding the
community of practice and increasing engagement with the grains sector. eXtensionAUS will also
offer participants opportunities for professional development in the use of electronic communication
tools and techniques to promote better interaction and collaboration among Australian and
international experts.
Grower and Adviser Development Program
The GRDC’s Grower and Adviser Development Program targets Australian grain growers and
advisers who seek to arrange and undertake certain professional development activities. The aim
is to enable grain-producing businesses to be productive, profitable and sustainable by assisting
growers and advisers to gain knowledge, develop new skills, build relationships and acquire
information.
In 2016–17, the program will offer funding for applicants who wish to visit a relevant organisation or
activity, such as a farming systems group, centre of excellence or GRDC-supported R&D project;
and applicants who wish to invite a subject expert to travel to their community to share knowledge
and experience.
Herbicide Innovation Partnership
The Herbicide Innovation Partnership was established in 2015 by the GRDC and Bayer
CropScience, with the aim of discovering and developing novel solutions to the challenges of weed
management and, in particular, herbicide resistance.
The project has engaged 10 postdoctoral chemists from Australia and New Zealand to work at
Bayer CropScience’s laboratory in Frankfurt, Germany. During 2016–17, they will focus on
identifying and assessing new chemical molecules with potential to replace existing herbicides to
which weeds have developed resistance.
The postdoctoral research program plays a very important role in the Herbicide Innovation
Partnership and will help to build the capacity of the participating scientists as well as Bayer
CropScience’s weed research capability.
Grains research updates and farm business management updates
In each grain-growing region, the GRDC will support timely and targeted grains research and farm
business updates for growers and their advisers in 2016–17.
GRDC grains research updates deliver a strategic and innovative program of R&D extension to
growers and advisers through face-to-face events held in capital cities and regional centres. The
events support industry networking and information exchange and provide cutting-edge
information, based on GRDC-supported projects, that assists growers and advisers to adopt new
farming practices and technologies.
GRDC farm business updates assist growers and advisers to recognise and access the additional
knowledge and skills they need to fully understand, adapt and adopt the outputs of RD&E to
optimise cropping businesses. Each update is driven by specific business issues that are
addressed by guest speakers. Update locations are chosen to maximise access and participation
by members of the target audience, and processes to facilitate individual learning, networking and
access to key sources of information and knowledge are built into every event.
To extend and reinforce the messages delivered by GRDC updates, tailored communication and
extension products, including specialist publications, are also provided.
Cross-theme investments
Some of the GRDC’s investments contribute to achieving the targets and outcomes of several, or
all, of the RD&E investment themes. In 2016–17, these cross-theme investments will fall into two
categories:
42










‘Foundational activities’, which covers investments in activities that underpin the delivery of
programs that run across multiple themes, such as
developing data sources for evaluating and reporting on the progress of the investment themes
conducting communication campaigns
managing customer relationships and communication channels, including the GRDC’s
publications, periodicals, promotional materials and online content
investing in infrastructure to ensure the Australian grains industry has access to the RD&E
infrastructure and capability it needs for the future
‘R&D management’, which encompasses investments in the GRDC’s commercial activities as
well as other activities such as:
conducting stakeholder surveys
providing support for consultative bodies and managing the GRDC’s directorships and
memberships of grains industry organisations
performing reviews, impact assessment and portfolio analysis
managing amortisation of shares, emerging issues and unallocated investment funds
For 2016–17, ‘Foundational activities’ has a budget of $25.8 million, while ‘R&D management’ has
a budget of $17.5 million.
Enabling business functions
The GRDC’s Corporate Services and Communications business groups work with the three
operational business groups to implement the GRDC’s corporate strategies and achieve the
planned outcomes of the GRDC’s investment themes.
Figure 3 shows the key enabling activities in the context of the core business processes through
which the GRDC implements its RD&E investment strategy and delivers value for grain growers
and government. Table 7 provides details of the goals of the enabling activities in 2016–17.
43
Figure 3: GRDC value chain
44
Table 7: Objectives and deliverables for enabling activities in 2016–17
OBJECTIVE
DELIVERABLES
Corporate strategy
Support the implementation of the Ensure that employees understand the GRDC’s strategic direction.
Strategic R&D Plan 2012–17.
Review and report the progress of the implementation of the five-year plan to the Board and
government.
Planning and reporting
Maintain compliance with
statutory planning and reporting
requirements.
Ensure the timely publication of the:





five-year strategic R&D plan
annual operational plan
portfolio budget statements
annual report
stakeholder report.
Corporate communications
Inform all customers/stakeholders Develop integrated communication campaigns (involving all business units) to deliver
of the corporation’s goals,
specific and timely information to external stakeholders.
strategies and achievements.
Through media monitoring, measure the GRDC’s effectiveness and performance in
corporate communication.
Through mainstream media, identify and target information of interest and relevance to the
general public.
Increase the effectiveness of internal communication within the GRDC.
Information management systems
Support R&D information access
needs and records management
as well as the business computing
and telecommunication
requirements of the organisation.
Comply with the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework.
Provide business systems that meet the requirements of the organisation.
Maintain a reliable and secure network for GRDC users that is capable of growth as
needed.
Procure information technology and telecommunications equipment for information and
communications management.
Finance and administration
Manage accounting and treasury
functions in accordance with
statutory obligations and
requirements and the direction of
the GRDC Board.
Maintain internal controls through the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee and the internal
audit program.
Develop, update and implement treasury management systems that enable the GRDC to
meet the funding requirements of the annual operational plan.
Develop and maintain the budget and reporting framework to foster financial responsibility at
the business unit level.
Improve and upgrade reporting systems and templates.
Human resources management
Deliver best practice human
Maintain a performance management system (recruitment, succession, performance
resources management outcomes management, retention, diversity, learning and development).
that ensure a highly motivated
Negotiate and implement the GRDC Enterprise Agreement.
workforce focused on achieving
organisational objectives.
Risk management
Ensure that strategic, business,
Maintain an effective risk management system.
fraud, work health and safety, and Ensure that internal audit recommendations are included in business risk and fraud risk
security risks are identified,
45
OBJECTIVE
DELIVERABLES
assessed and appropriately
managed.
assessments and actioned accordingly.
Ensure that business risk and strategic risk are reviewed every six months by the Senior
Leadership Group and the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee.
Legal services
Protect the GRDC’s legal
interests.
Provide legal support to the organisation that is timely and of high quality and builds
relationships with stakeholders.
Provide high-quality secretariat support to the GRDC Board and its subcommittees.
Corporate governance
Maintain a robust system of
governance.
Ensure compliance with requirements under the Primary Industries Research and
Development Act 1989, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013,
ministerial directions and the funding agreement with the Commonwealth.
Manage compliance through appropriate control systems and an ethical business culture.
46
4. Estimated income and expenditure
Income
The GRDC’s total income in 2016–17 is forecast to be $200.1 million.
Figure 4 shows the sources of the GRDC’s forecast total income for 2016–17 in percentage terms.
Figure 4: Forecast total income
In dollar terms:




Australian Government contributions are expected to be $68.2 million
levy contributions from grain growers are expected to be $114.5 million
income from grants is estimated to be $1.2 million
other income, which includes interest on investments and royalties, is expected to be $16.2
million.
Figure 5 shows the sources of the GRDC’s forecast levy income for 2016–17, in percentage terms,
by leviable crop.
Figure 5: Forecast levy income
The 2016–17 forecast is based on several assumptions, including:

The quantity of grain produced will include 24.5 million tonnes (mt) of wheat, 8.6 mt of barley,
3.3 mt of canola, 2.0 mt of sorghum and 1.2 mt of oats.
47



The grain prices achieved per tonne will include $300 for wheat (Australian Premium White),
$257 for feed barley, $294 for malting barley, $589 for canola, $316 for sorghum and $235 for
oats.
Cash to pool ratios will be 85:15 for wheat and 90:10 for barley.
Levy rates will be 0.99 percent of farm gate value for 24 grains and 0.693 percent of farm gate
value for maize.
The GRDC considered the following three income scenarios for 2016–17:



Scenario 1 is the baseline case, underlying the above income information. This scenario
indicates that liquid reserves at the end of 2016–17 would be $134.8 million, which is below the
upper bound of the target range of the GRDC’s reserves policy.
Scenario 2 projects a pessimistic case. Low crop production volumes are assumed for this
scenario, while prices for the major crops of wheat, barley, sorghum, canola and oats are
assumed to stay as in the baseline scenario. Under this scenario, projected income for 2016–
17 would be $142.6 million. Liquid reserves at the end of 2016–17 would decrease to $77.2
million, which is just below the lower bound of the target range. This indicates that the forecast
expenditure level is achievable under such a scenario, but the GRDC may need to review
expenditure levels going forward to maintain financial viability. If liquid reserves are lower than
expected as depicted in this scenario, the GRDC has the power to cut funding to bring
expenditure back into line with revenue.
Scenario 3 projects an optimistic case. The optimistic scenario assumes crop production levels
as in the baseline scenario but prices similar to the record high prices of 2007–08. Under this
scenario, projected income for the year would be $230.5 million. Liquid reserves at the end of
2016–17 would increase to $165.1 million, above the upper bound of the target range.
Expenditure
The GRDC Board has approved annual operating expenditure of $220.5 million in 2016–17, an
increase of 0.4 percent in comparison to the 2015–16 expenditure budget.
Table 8 summarises the GRDC’s estimates of expenditure for 2016–17.
These figures are indicative only. Changes in the GRDC’s operating environment may require the
corporation to vary the total expenditure or specific allocations to secure its financial objectives.
Figure 6 shows the break-up of the operating expenditure budget between management and
RD&E expenditure, highlighting the proportions allocated to new and ongoing RD&E investments.
48
Table 8: Estimates of expenditure
EXPENDITURE AREA
2015–16
$M
2016–17
$M
2016–17
%
Research, development and extension
Theme 1—Meeting market requirements
12.4
8.7
4.4
Theme 2—Improving crop yield
33.7
38.2
19.3
Theme 3—Protecting your crop
51.0
51.9
26.2
Theme 4—Advancing profitable farming systems
38.5
37.9
19.1
Theme 5—Improving your farm resource base
16.0
10.6
5.3
8.9
7.4
3.8
27.2
25.8
13.0
9.3
17.5
8.9
197.0
198.0
89.8
Employees2
11.5
11.5
5.2
Suppliers3
11.2
11.0
5.0
Management budget allocation
22.7
22.5
10.2
Total operating expenditure
219.7
220.5
100.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Theme 6—Building skills and capacity
Foundational activities
R&D management1
RD&E budget allocation
Management
Total capital budget allocation
1 R&D management includes as at 1 July 2016 unallocated investment in 2016–17.
2 Employee costs include remuneration of directors and committee members.
3 Supplier costs include depreciation, amortisation and levy collection/management expenditure.
Figure 6: Forecast operating expenditure
49
Management costs—costs of employees and suppliers—are budgeted at $22.5 million, or 10.2
percent of the total expenditure.
New RD&E investment is budgeted at $15.1 million, or 6.8 percent of the total expenditure.
Ongoing RD&E investment—strategic investment and continuing commitments to existing
projects—is budgeted at $182.9 million, or 82.9 percent of the total expenditure.
The RD&E expenditure for 2016–17 includes a component of $299.5 million which relates to longterm (three years or more) contractual commitments. Figure 7 shows the GRDC’s long-term
contractual commitments by financial year as at April 2016.
Figure 7: Break-up of forward contractual commitments by year, as at April 2016
Reserves
The GRDC’s revenue depends on grain production levels, prices and growers’ marketing
intentions, all of which can be highly variable. To reduce the impact of fluctuations in these
variables on the industry’s annual RD&E effort, and safeguard its ongoing RD&E investment, the
GRDC manages financial reserves. The reserves are accumulated in years of high-value
production and drawn on in years when revenue is lower. Reserves include R&D share
investments that are not commonly traded as well as fixed assets. Easily tradeable assets form
liquid reserves.
The GRDC aims to maintain the liquid reserves at a level between 40 percent and 70 percent of
the following year’s expenditure. Currently, the level slightly exceeds the 70 percent target. The
reserves have grown because of increases in income over budget expectations, caused by a sharp
increase in grain prices and volume of production being higher than expected.
Careful management of the reserves has placed the GRDC in a strong position to increase RD&E
expenditure above the projected income for 2016–17. Therefore, the GRDC is budgeting for an
operating deficit of $20.4 million for 2016–17, to be funded from the reserves. The operating loss
for 2016–17 was approved in March 2016 by the Minister for Finance.
50
Payments to representative organisations
Grain Producers Australia and GrainGrowers are the GRDC’s ‘representative organisations’ under
the Primary Industries Research and Development Act 1989.
The GRDC makes payments to the representative organisations in accordance with clauses 6.5
and 6.6 of its statutory funding agreement.
The GRDC has made an allowance in its planned RD&E investment for 2016–17 to provide up to a
maximum of $90,000 to each representative organisation to support consultation with
organisations such as the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and with other grains
industry representative bodies. Actual expenditure will be published in the GRDC’s annual report
for 2016–17.
Expenditure to meet Australian Government research priorities
Table 9 summarises the expected total expenditure allocated against each of the Australian
Government’s Science and Research Priorities for 2016–17, while Table 10 summarises the
expected total expenditure allocated against each of the Australian Government’s Rural RD&E
Priorities. The allocation of funds is shown in both dollar and percentage terms for each investment
theme and for the cross-theme investment categories.
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Table 9: Investments addressing Australian Government Science and Research Priorities
FOO
D
$M
SOIL AND TRANSPO
WATER
RT
$M
$M
CYBERSECURI
TY
$M
ENERG RESOURCE
Y
S
$M
$M
ADVANCED
ENVIRONMENT
MANUFACTURIN AL CHANGE
G
$M
$M
HEALT
H
$M
OTHE
R
$M
TOTA
L
$M
Meeting market
requirements
8.7
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8.7
Improving crop
yield
38.2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
38.2
Protecting your
crop
51.9
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
51.9
Advancing
profitable farming
systems
-
37.9
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
37.9
Improving your
farm resource base
-
6.5
-
-
-
-
-
4.1
-
-
10.6
Building skills and
capacity
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
7.4
7.4
Foundational
activities
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
25.8
25.8
R&D management
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
17.5
17.5
Total $m
98.8
44.3
-
-
-
-
-
4.1
-
50.8
198.0
Total %
50.0
22.0
-
-
-
-
-
2.0
-
26.0
100.0
52
Table 10: Investments addressing Australian Government Rural Research, Development and Extension Priorities
ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY
$M
Meeting market requirements
Improving crop yield
BIOSECURITY
$M
SOIL, WATER AND
MANAGING
NATURAL
RESOURCES
$M
ADOPTION OF
R&D
$M
TOTAL
$M
TOTAL
%
-
-
-
8.7
8.7
4.4
38.2
-
-
-
38.2
19.3
51.9
-
-
51.9
26.2
Protecting your crop
Advancing profitable farming
systems
-
-
-
37.9
37.9
19.1
Improving your farm resource
base
-
-
10.0
0.6
10.6
5.3
Building skills and capacity
-
-
-
7.4
7.4
3.8
Foundational activities
-
-
-
25.8
25.8
13.0
R&D management
-
-
-
17.5
17.5
8.9
Total $m
38.2
51.9
10.0
97.8
198.0
-
Total %
19.0
26.0
5.0
50.0
100
53
GRDC CONTACT DETAILS
Location: Level 4, East Building
4 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
Post: Grains Research and Development Corporation
PO Box 5367
KINGSTON ACT 2604
Phone: 02 6166 4500
Fax: 02 6166 4599
Email: [email protected]
Website: grdc.com.au
PRODUCTION NOTES
Concepts, text and research: GRDC
Editing: WordsWorth Writing
Design and typesetting: Giraffe VCM
© Grains Research and Development Corporation 2016
ISSN 1038-670X
This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no
part may be reproduced by any process without permission from the Grains Research and
Development Corporation.
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