From Coffee, Carnivale and Caipirinha to Samba and Soybeans
Our third and final visit to the very large and diverse continent of the Americas was Brazil, to learn more about how a nation went from a food importer to one of the largest food exporters over a period of only a few decades. Brazil has managed to evolve from a food insecure country in … Read More
Argentina the land of beef and soybean!
In the second part of our 2019 agriculture innovation review we continue to explore the American continent. After spending two weeks in northern America in two of the major agricultural centres as described in our previous blog-post, we moved south to Argentina the land famous for its steaks, Gauchos, Tango and of course Soybean. Argentina … Read More
2019 agriculture innovation review – USA
With the end of the year nearing, we thought it was time to review all the things we have learned from our travels and interactions with our clients, farmers and experts in different areas of agriculture. This week we will start with a report about the trip to the World Agritech summit in San Francisco … Read More
Nothing wild or wolfish about this Coyote
A new narrow-leaf lupin variety has been recently launched by Australian Grain Technologies (AGT) Coyote offers growers a high yielding & stable lupin variety which can cope with a range of conditions. AGT took over the lupin breeding program from the Department of Primary Industries & Regional development in 2016. In May of this year, … Read More
Innovation is a business buzz word in the Primary Industries grain sector.
The Curtin University Business School’s Ignition Innovation accelerator program has up skilled scholarship winners Bronnie Kemp and Louise Edmunds. In its fourth year of awarding these scholarships, the Dept of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), has helped to encourage and foster innovation and business opportunities for the grains industry. When speaking from her experience, … Read More
Are Peas the next best thing in the plant-based protein game?
The humble pea is literally jumping out of its shell to participate in the new groundswell to replace animal protein with plant protein, in many non-meat and non-dairy food options. Agriculturalists are cottoning on to the fact that the humble pea may be the next best plant-based protein to hit the market. If the pea … Read More
Not just a rabbit proof fence
If you are a farmer wanting to protect crops and stock from feral animals, you may be interested to read about Esperance’s new 660 km extension of the state barrier fence. This 11-million-dollar project is expected to take 2-3 years and will provide a 1.35 metres high protective fence. Much of the funding has come … Read More
Women’s voices valued in leading agricultural decisions
Pictured: Senator Bridget McKenzie Despite playing an integral role in the success of agricultural businesses, since farming began; female leaders in the industry have been overlooked. Nonetheless, women have made an impact behind the scenes and have rarely been recognised and noticed. The appointment of a female Federal Minister for Agriculture (Senator Bridget McKenzie), has … Read More
The Future of Legumes
Over the last 25 years, the Pulse association of the South East (PASE) has seen a huge change in the legume space. PASE is asking questions about the transition to developing a strategy to continue to grow legumes and if it is viable to market out of the port zone. In the last two decades … Read More
Farmers feeling the dry start to seeding.
Although winter might officially be here, this year’s rainfall has been significantly lower than in previous years. The last 6 months have had little to no substantial rainfall leading to almost no moisture in the soil which is leaving farmers concerned. Many across the state have been dry seeding and are not sure how they … Read More
MALDI-ID attending WORLD Agri-Tech Innovation Summit
We are attending the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco. The theme this year is to turn disruptive technology into business strategy, through partnerships and collaborations. We are keen to understand what the rest of the world is focusing on in agriculture. Finding partnerships is our goal and understanding where MALDI-ID can play internationally.
More good news on chickpea popularity
The popularity of chickpeas is on the rise in the US. Not only is it a very versatile and tasty legume, but according to The Atlantic roasted and spiced chickpeas are also a healthier alternative to fried potato chips. For many more exciting examples of how versatile chickpeas and legumes are check out the article … Read More
MALDI-ID CEO receives 40Under40 award
Our CEO Dr De Meyer has received the prestigious WA Business News award for transforming her academic research into MALDI-ID in just three years. She was also named as one of the 40under40 winners. It is such a reward for all the hard work we have put into making the research available to our Australian … Read More
Lupin Harvest at maturity can help reduce grain losses
Western Australian growers are being urged to harvest lupin crops as soon as they ripen to avoid grain losses from seed shedding and pod drop. Pod drop, seed shedding, shattering of mature grain and potential for reduced seed germination (if there is rainfall after the crop matures) are key issues to be considered at this … Read More
WA could be on track for record-breaking crop production
WA looks to be on track for record-breaking harvest if current weather conditions across much of the grainbelt continue. First crop production estimates were recently released by the Grain Industry Association of Western Australia (GIWA) for 2018 – WA is predicted to produce more than 15.5 million tonnes of grain and 9.9mt of wheat. This would … Read More
Demonstration of legumes for reliable profitability in the western region
LIEBE Group members and partners faced the wet and wild conditions last week to expand their knowledge of assimilating legumes into their farming enterprises. The Grains Research and Development Corporation project involved a demonstration of legumes for reliable profitability in the western region, aiming to provide growers with access to agronomy packages for pulses/legumes for … Read More
New research for production of chickpeas
A multi-nation research collaboration is hoping to unlock valuable new opportunities for the production of chickpeas in Australia. Researchers supported by GRDC have collected and multiplied wild chickpea species located in the Middle East to build a special genetic resource from which important traits are being screened. Researches are hoping for a possible incorporation into … Read More
Strong mung bean season thanks to demand from China and Vietnam
A strong mung bean season in Australia has paved the way for crops to get close to average yields. Thanks to strong demand from China and Vietnam, mung bean prices have avoided the India-inspired slump that hit the rest of the pulse market. Mark Schmidt, Australian Mungbean Association president, said there would be an estimated total … Read More
Climate change: Planning for future farming
Climate change is causing everyone to plan ahead for the future. Experimenting with new ideas is important so we can better understand what will work in the future. For decades farmers have been dealing with heat waves, flooding, droughts and extreme colds. We can only expect these issues to continue into the future. Paul Blackwell, … Read More
Wheat variety should be carefully selected after big chickpea years
An accumulation of root lesion nematode populations under heavy and successive chickpea plantings is pushing farmers to make sure their rotations include resistant crops, which will lower the risk of wheat yield losses. 2016 and 2017 were Australia’s largest ever chickpea plantings and has allowed a growth surge of the Pratylenchus thornei root nematode (RLN), commonly found in Queensland and … Read More