Sustainable systems for profit-maximisation in the High Rainfall Zone (HRZ) of Western Australia

The majority of the high rainfall zone (HRZ) of Western Australia lies within the Albany and Esperance Port Zones. Typically, canola is grown following a cereal crop with data showing cereal preferences changing over time and between port zones. In the Albany port zone, the area sown to wheat has declined by 25% over the last decade with growers substituting barley, compared to the Esperance port zone, where wheat area has risen by 15%. Crop sequence is a primary driver of system performance and a valuable tool to manage disease incidence and severity. Given the amount of barley produced in the Albany port zone it is necessary for growers to embrace and implement a more comprehensive Integrated Disease Management (IDM) program to ensure the sustainability of barley production within their farming systems. There is therefore a need to examine crop production systems in the HRZ holistically. This can be achieved by combining crop sequencing decisions, agronomic management, and IDM strategies in a farming systems approach.

GRDC’s strategic partnership, Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI), can offer the following analytics services as a GRDC in-kind contribution to this investment, where applicable to your application and requirements:

• Advice on data collection techniques and protocols and experimental plans as part of your application

• Ongoing advice on experimental designs and data collection protocols and plans over the life of the investment

• Multifactorial farming systems trial analyses

• Derivation of in-season, trial/plot-level crop physiological parameters (e.g., NDVI, biomass) and soil/weather covariates and incorporation into trial analyses and reporting from the following data sources:

• Proximal or earth observation data provided by applicant

• Public or applicant’s weather stations

• APSIM modelling or other mechanistic modelling

To access this support, applicants must negotiate with AAGI directly and describe the agreed scope of services in an Analytics Collaboration Plan (template available from AAGI) attached to their tender. Please make enquiries to the University of Queensland, attention Dr Elizabeth Meier, at [email hidden]. Please note, applicants that decline AAGI services must provide a technical plan for their own analytics and a value-for-money rationale for not using in-kind AAGI services.