Growers tune in for expert advice

An innovative approach to preparing for the coming cropping season has enabled pulse growers to hear from leading industry experts without leaving the farm.

As part of the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s Southern Region Pulse Extension Project, a series of short online webinars were run last week and are now available on GRDC’S website.

Industry experts provided an overview of relevant agronomic information, pulse research findings and current market information by pulse crop type.

GRDC manager of systems and agronomy – south, Andrew Etherton, said the Growing Pulses webinar series was a valuable addition to growers’ preparations for the 2019 cropping season.

“The GRDC recognises this is a busy time of the year for growers, with so many events on the calendar ahead of sowing,” he said.

“We therefore chose a webinar format for pulse crop forums, so growers and other industry personnel could conveniently tune in from their homes or offices.

“Each webinar focused on a particular crop type, so growers and others could choose which webinars best suited their interests and needs.”

The GRDC Southern Region Pulse Extension Project – Building capacity, skills and knowledge for the pulse industry in the southern region: Supporting expansion of high value pulses into new areas and ensuring sustained profitability of all key pulse crops – started in 2017 and is delivered by a consortium of organisations involved in the pulse industry across the GRDC’S southern region.

Its objective is to increase the knowledge of growers and advisers on sustainable pulse production, leading to improved farming systems and grower profitability in the southern region.

Webinar recordings on beans, vetch, field peas, lentils and chickpeas are available on GRDC website, grdc.com.au.