GRDC Annual Operational Plan 2013-14

Annual
Operational
Plan 201314
The Grains Research and Development Corporation
is a statutory authority established to plan and invest
in research, development and extension (RD&E) for the
Australian grains industry.
Its primary objective is to drive the discovery,
development and delivery of world-class innovation to
enhance the productivity, protability and sustainability
of Australian grain growers and benet the industry and
the wider community.
Its primary business activity is the allocation and
management of investment in grains RD&E.
GRDC vision
A protable and sustainable Australian grains industry,
valued by the wider community.
GRDC mission
Create value by driving the discovery, development
and delivery of world-class innovation in the
GRDC values
We are committed and passionate about the
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.

17 April 2013
Senator the Hon. Joe Ludwig
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Minister
I am pleased to submit for your approval the Grains Research and Development
Corporation (GRDC) annual operational plan for the nancial year 201314. This is
required under sections 25 and 26 of the Primary Industries and Energy Research
and Development Act 1989.
In developing the plan, the GRDC has been conscious of the need to facilitate
performance reporting as required under the Commonwealth Authorities and
Companies Act 1997.
The 201314 nancial year will be the second under the GRDCs Strategic R&D
Plan 201217. The research activities outlined in this annual operational plan will
contribute to implementing the strategies and achieving the objectives set out in
the ve-year plan.
Table 5 illustrates how the GRDCs RD&E portfolio addresses the Australian
Governments National Research Priorities and Rural R&D Priorities, including
the governments focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation, water
management, biosecurity, food security and productivity.
The estimates of income and expenditure in this plan are indicative. Changes in
the operating environment may require the GRDC to vary the total expenditure or
specic allocations to secure its objectives.
Yours sincerely
Keith Perrett
Chair
Level 1
40 Blackall Street
Barton ACT 2600
PO BOX 5367
KINGSTON ACT 2604
T +61 2 6166 4500
F +61 2 6166 4599
grdc@grdc.com.au
www.grdc.com.au
Postal address
Grains Research and Development Corporation
PO Box 5367
KINGSTON ACT 2604
Location
Level 1, Tourism House
40 Blackall Street
BARTON ACT 2600
Telephone: 02 6166 4500
Facsimile: 02 6166 4599
Website: www.grdc.com.au
Production notes
Compliance editor: Catherine Wells
Concepts, text and research: GRDC
Editing: WordsWorth Writing, Canberra
Design and typesetting: ZOO Advertising
Grains Research and Development Corporation 2013
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.
ISO 9001:2008
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Contents
Executive summary ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................2
1 The GRDC ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Purpose ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Funding ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Structure .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Relationships ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................6
Planning and reporting ................................................................................................................................................................................................................7
2 Investment approach ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................8
Business environment .................................................................................................................................................................................................................8
Strategy ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................8
Process ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................11
Communication and extension .........................................................................................................................................................................................13
Evaluation ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................13
3 RD&E priorities ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Grains industry priorities .........................................................................................................................................................................................................14
Australian Government priorities ......................................................................................................................................................................................15
Other national priorities ............................................................................................................................................................................................................15
Alignment with investments .................................................................................................................................................................................................15
4 Goals and performance measures ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Investment themes......................................................................................................................................................................................................................17
Theme 1Meeting market requirements .........................................................................................................................................................17
Theme 2Improving crop yield ...............................................................................................................................................................................20
Theme 3Protecting your crop ..............................................................................................................................................................................22
Theme 4Advancing protable farming systems .....................................................................................................................................25
Theme 5Improving your farm resource base ...........................................................................................................................................27
Theme 6Building skills and capacity ...............................................................................................................................................................29
Cross-theme investments .............................................................................................................................................................................................31
Enabling functions .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................32
Work plan ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................35
5 Estimated income and expenditure ..................................................................................................................................................................... 36
Income ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................36
Expenditure .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................36
Reserves .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................37
Payments to Grain Producers Australia .....................................................................................................................................................................37
Expenditure to meet Australian Government research priorities ............................................................................................................37
Abbreviations list ........................................................................................................................................... 42
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Executive
summary
The GRDC
(GRDC) is a statutory authority established to invest
in R&D and related activities to benet the Australian
grains industry and the wider Australian community.
Because effective delivery of R&D outcomes is critical
to achieving benets, the GRDC invests in research,
development and extension (RD&E) activities.
The GRDCs primary objective is to drive the discovery,
development and delivery of world-class innovation to
enhance the productivity, protability and sustainability
of Australian grain growers and benet the industry
and the wider community.
The GRDC is primarily funded by an industry
levy and Australian Government contributions.
Its investment portfolio covers 25 leviable crops,
spanning temperate and tropical cereals, coarse
grains, pulses and oilseeds.
A board of directors governs the GRDC, while
the corporations business activities are led by the
Senior Leadership Group. Regional and national
advisory panelscomprising grain growers,
agribusiness practitioners, scientists and the GRDCs
executive managersadvise the GRDC Board on
RD&E priorities, and provide an effective interface
with stakeholders.
The GRDCs investment activities are managed
across three operational business groupsResearch
Programs, Commercial, and Regional Grower
Servicessupported by an enabling business group,
Corporate Services.
More information on the GRDCs role, funding,
structure and way of doing business is provided in
Part 1 of this document.
Strategy
The GRDCs Strategic R&D Plan 201217 provides
a template to ensure that the GRDC will invest 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 the ve years from
July 2012 to June 2017.
The ve-year strategy is informed by consultation with
grain growers, representatives of government and
research partners, and other relevant stakeholders.
The plan embraces the principles, strategies and
implementation plan set out in the Grains Industry
National Research, Development and Extension
Strategy (Grains Industry National RD&E Strategy),
and integrates them with the identied priorities
of Australian grain growers and the Australian
Government.
The Grains Industry National RD&E Strategy is
one of more than 20 industry sector and cross-
sectoral strategies devised under the National
Primary Industries RD&E Framework to improve the
efciency and effectiveness of RD&E capability by
strengthening collaboration and coordination between
the Australian Government, state governments,
research institutions and industry. The GRDCs
Strategic R&D Plan 201217 also takes into account
the priorities of the cross-sectoral research strategies,
in areas with relevance to the grains industryfor
example, climate change; water use in agriculture;
and biofuels and bioenergy.
Each year, the GRDC undertakes a thorough process
of consultation to identify the highest RD&E priorities
of the grains industry and particular needs of growers
in every region. The GRDC identies potential
investments that address those priorities and satisfy
the strategic objectives of the ve-year plan, and
reviews the progress of ongoing investments, to
shape the RD&E investment portfolio for the year.
The detailed investment priorities, along with clearly
dened measures of performance in meeting
those priorities, are set out each year in an annual
operational plan. The annual operational plan, an
important element of the GRDCs accountability
to stakeholders, is formulated in consultation with
stakeholders and approved by the Minister for
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The outcomes of the annual and ve-year investment
strategies are delivered through six themesMeeting
market requirements, Improving crop yield, Protecting
your crop, Advancing protable farming systems,
Improving your farm resource base, and Building skills
and capacitysupported by ve corporate strategies:
Create value
Coordinate nationally
Deliver regionally
Connect globally
Engage with growers and industry.
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3 Priorities in 201314
This annual operational plan covers RD&E investment
in 201314, the second year of the implementation of
the Strategic R&D Plan 201217.
Each year, the GRDC renes its investment portfolio
and annual operational plan to respond to changes
in the business environment and optimally address
the priorities of the Australian grains industry and the
Australian Government.
Part 2 of this plan describes the key factors likely to
inuence the business environment of the Australian
grains industry in 201314. Examples include volatility
in the Australian dollar exchange rate, grain production
and prices; changes in grain-marketing arrangements;
and carbon pricing.
The GRDC identied the strategic RD&E priorities of
Australian grain growers and the wider industry during
the development of the strategic R&D plan through:
a range of consultation meetings with Grain
Producers Australia, agribusiness reference
groups, grower groups, grower representative
organisations and individual grain growers
activities and discussions with organisations such
as Wheat Quality Australia, Barley Australia, Pulse
Australia and the Australian Oilseeds Federation,
as well as traders and marketers in general.
The GRDC has adopted the industrys overarching
priorities as its six themes for investment for 201217.
The Australian Governments key priorities for rural
RD&E are set out in the National Research Priorities
(and their associated priority goals), and the Rural
R&D Priorities. The governments National Innovation
Priorities are also relevant to grains industry RD&E.
Part 3 of this document provides more details of the
industry and government priorities and demonstrates
how new GRDC investments in 201314 are aligned
to the investment themes that address them. Part 4
species the planned investments and performance
measures for each theme, as well as some of the
objectives and performance indicators for the Corporate
Services business group and the GRDC work plan.
Performance
The GRDC continually monitors its progress against
the key performance indicators in the strategic R&D
plan and the annual operational plan, and evaluates
its effectiveness in delivering benets to the Australian
grains industry and the wider community.
Part 1 of this document describes the elements of
the GRDCs approach to reporting its performance
to stakeholders, including through the annual report,
the growers report and other publications. Part 2
describes how the GRDCs performance is evaluated,
while Part 4 sets out detailed performance measures
for 201314.
Income and expenditure
The GRDCs total income in 201314 is forecast to be
$178.6 million, consisting of:
Australian Government contributions of
$64.3 million
levy contributions from grain growers of
$99.8 million
grants totalling $0.7 million
other income, including interest and royalties,
of $13.8 million.
For 201314, the GRDC Board has approved an
annual operating expenditure of $190.2 million (which
is an increase of approximately 5.2 percent compared
to the 201213 expenditure budget).
The GRDC is estimating an operating loss in 201314.
This loss will be funded by the GRDCs accumulated
nancial reserves.
Part 5 of this document provides details of the
estimates of GRDC income and expenditure for
201314. The gures are indicative only. Changes in
the GRDCs operating environment may require the
corporation to vary the total expenditure or specic
allocations to secure its objectives.
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1 The GRDC
Purpose
(GRDC) was established in 1990, under the Primary
Industries and Energy Research and Development Act
1989, to assist the Australian grains industry to:
increase the economic, environmental and social
benets to members of primary industries and
to the community in general by improving the
production, processing, storage, transport or
marketing of grain
achieve sustainable use and management of
natural resources
make more effective use of the resources and
skills of the community in general and the
scientic community in particular
improve accountability for expenditure on
R&D activities.
As part of the Australian Governments Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry Portfolio, the GRDC delivers
one outcome towards the portfolios goal of achieving
more sustainable, protable and competitive Australian
agriculture, food, sheries and forestry industries:
New information and products that enhance the
productivity, competitiveness and environmental
sustainability of Australian grain growers and benet
the industry and wider community, through planning,
managing and implementing investments in grains
research and development.
The GRDC assists the grains industry by investing
in research, development and extension (RD&E) and
related activities across a portfolio spanning temperate
and tropical cereals, coarse grains, pulses and
oilseeds. This involves coordinating and funding the
activities; monitoring, evaluating and reporting on their
impact; and facilitating the dissemination, adoption
and commercialisation of their results.
The GRDC does not undertake R&D itself. Rather,
it relies on other organisations that have the
necessary R&D capabilities to undertake the work.
As an investor in RD&E, the GRDC often partners
with co-funding organisations, many of which also
provide RD&E services.
The GRDC also contributes to the development of
strategic national approaches to grains industry RD&E,
to reduce fragmentation and duplication, and to help
address industry-wide issues such as biosecurity and
climate change.
While its focus is on delivering benets to its primary
stakeholders, Australian grain growers, the GRDC
also generates outcomes from investing in RD&E
that benet other participants in the Australian
grains industry value chain and the wider Australian
community, as well as the research community in
Australia and overseas.
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
grainsbarley, oats, sorghum, maize, triticale, millets/
panicums, cereal rye and canary seed; pulseslupins,
eld peas, chickpeas, faba beans, vetch, peanuts,
mung beans, navy beans, pigeon peas, cowpeas and
lentils; and oilseedscanola, sunower, soybean,
safower and linseed. The Australian Governments
contribution is determined annually, with the maximum
contribution based on the three-year rolling average of
the gross value of production of the 25 leviable crops.
Structure
The GRDCs operations are tailored to most effectively
apply the organisations resources to achieve its
outcomes. Through the GRDC structure, the strengths
of the GRDCs highly committed staff are enhanced
by the depth of experience of its directors and the
diverse knowledge and skills of its advisory panel
members. All aspects of the GRDCs performance
and accountability are underpinned by robust
corporate governance policies and practices.
Figure 1 sets out the organisational structure of
the GRDC.
Business groups
The GRDCs three operational business groups
Research Programs, Commercial, and Regional
Grower Servicesoversee and manage investments
to achieve the outcomes determined under the
GRDCs six investment themes. The operational
business groups are supported by the enabling
business group, Corporate Services.
National
Panel
Regional
panels
Board
Managing
Director
groups
business
Operational
group
business
Enabling
Corporate
Services
Regional
Grower
Services
Commercial
Research
Programs
Senior
Leadership
Group
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Panels
The Board makes decisions with the support of the
National Panel, informed by the knowledge and
experience of three regional panels and the GRDC
executive. The advisory panel network helps to
ensure that GRDC investments are directed towards
the interests of all its stakeholders and aligned with
at least one of the GRDCs six themes.
Regional panels
The three regional advisory panels, covering the
northern, southern and western grain-growing
regions of Australia, are composed of grain growers,
agribusiness representatives, researchers and the
GRDC executive managers, with provision for other
industry experts to participate as appropriate. Panel
members (other than GRDC executive managers)
are contracted to carry out their role and are not
employees of the GRDC.
The regional panels develop and monitor local and
regional investment priorities for their regions, identify
investments that respond to the national priorities
of grain growers and the Australian Government,
and make recommendations to the National
Panel. They work closely with grower groups and
organisations, including Regional Cropping Solutions
networks, in their regions.
Regional panels interact with growers, agribusiness
people, researchers and other participants in the grains
value chain in order to learn of emerging issues and
discuss industry developments and priorities for future
RD&E. They also make sure that GRDC investments
are responding to local and regional needs, and that
RD&E outputs are being delivered in the most effective
manner to promote rapid adoption.
The regional panel members in-depth understanding
of local needs and priorities, complemented by their
knowledge of the GRDCs investment portfolio,
makes them an integral part of ensuring that GRDC
investments deliver benets regionally and locally.
National Panel
The National Panel comprises the three regional panel
chairs, the GRDCs Managing Director and the GRDCs
executive managers.
The National Panel:
considers national RD&E priorities across the
GRDCs investment portfolio, takes advice from
regional panels, staff and external experts, and
advances recommendations on investments to
the Board
assists the Board to maintain links with grain
growers, the Australian Government, state and
territory governments and research partners
plays a signicant role in assessing future regional
requirements in RD&E capacity, and in ensuring
that they are met.
While its focus is on delivering benets to its primary
stakeholders, Australian grain growers, the GRDC
also generates outcomes from investing in RD&E
that benet other participants in the Australian
grains industry value chain and the wider Australian
community, as well as the research community in
Australia and overseas.
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
grainsbarley, oats, sorghum, maize, triticale, millets/
panicums, cereal rye and canary seed; pulseslupins,
eld peas, chickpeas, faba beans, vetch, peanuts,
mung beans, navy beans, pigeon peas, cowpeas and
lentils; and oilseedscanola, sunower, soybean,
safower and linseed. The Australian Governments
contribution is determined annually, with the maximum
contribution based on the three-year rolling average of
the gross value of production of the 25 leviable crops.
Structure
The GRDCs operations are tailored to most effectively
apply the organisations resources to achieve its
outcomes. Through the GRDC structure, the strengths
of the GRDCs highly committed staff are enhanced
by the depth of experience of its directors and the
diverse knowledge and skills of its advisory panel
members. All aspects of the GRDCs performance
and accountability are underpinned by robust
corporate governance policies and practices.
Figure 1 sets out the organisational structure of
the GRDC.
Business groups
The GRDCs three operational business groups
Research Programs, Commercial, and Regional
Grower Servicesoversee and manage investments
to achieve the outcomes determined under the
GRDCs six investment themes. The operational
business groups are supported by the enabling
business group, Corporate Services.
National
Panel
Regional
panels
Board
Managing
Director
groups
business
Operational
group
business
Enabling
Corporate
Services
Regional
Grower
Services
Commercial
Research
Programs
Senior
Leadership
Group
Figure 1: Organisational structure
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Board
The GRDCs board of directors, headed by the
Chair, oversees corporate governance, sets strategic
direction and monitors the performance of the GRDC
and the Managing Director.
The GRDC Board has combined expertise in business
management strategy; corporate governance;
commodity production, processing and marketing;
nance; risk management; management and
conservation of natural resources and the environment;
R&D administration; science, technology and
technology transfer; intellectual property management;
and public administration.
Senior Leadership Group
The GRDCs Senior Leadership Group is composed of
the Managing Director, the executive manager of each
of the GRDCs four business groups and the Executive
Manager Transition Projects.
The Senior Leadership Group leads the GRDCs
business activities and advises the GRDC Board.
It is responsible for implementing strategy, and
for managing and evaluating the GRDC and its
investments in RD&E.
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
connections with its other stakeholders, particularly in
the R&D and agribusiness sectors.
The GRDC collaborates with other Australian
organisations to deliver greater benets to grain
growers. Effective partnerships enable the GRDC to
leverage resources and research capability; share
market knowledge, technologies and intellectual
property; and reduce the risk associated with
particular investments.
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 benets, such as food security, for the
wider Australian community.
Communication
In the Southern and Western regions, the GRDCs
Regional Cropping Solutions networks link growers,
advisers, agribusiness and researchers, to identify local
needs, customise products and services and provide
feedback to the GRDC. In the Northern Region,
Grower Solutions Groups play a similar role.
Direct communication with growers and their advisers
is also facilitated by the GRDCs 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 (GPA), the
grains industrys representative organisation as dened
under the Primary Industries and Energy 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, Fisheries and
Forestry, and interacts with various federal and state
government agencies. The Primary Industries Standing
Committee of the Primary Industries Ministerial
Council, in which the GRDC participates, provides
a key conduit for liaison with government agencies
as well as CSIRO and the university sector.
Other opportunities to communicate with the
GRDC include:
personal contact, through eld days, forums,
conferences and other activities
education and training channels, such as the
GRDC Grower Updates, GRDC Adviser Updates,
GRDC-supported conferences and technical
workshops
GRDC stakeholder surveys
the GRDC website and YouTube channel.
The GRDC continually seeks to expand the reach and
relevance of its information delivery channels, including
by partnering with the agronomic adviser sector and
exploiting new information technologies.
Collaboration
Collaboration is at the heart of the GRDCs approach
to adding value to the Australian grains industry.
The majority of the GRDCs 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.
Australias R&D investment is only a small part of the
global effort, so the GRDC collaborates with public
and private research organisations overseas to build
and 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.
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Notable examples include the GRDCs 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).
Commercial partnerships
Usually the GRDC is only one of a number of
public and/or private organisations investing in
the development of a new technology. Investment
partnerships are desirable and necessary because
they bring together complementary skills and
reduce the risk to the GRDC in the funding of new
technologies. Partner organisations can bring benets
such as market knowledge and access to proprietary
technologies, as well as nancial resources.
Where the GRDC is a member of a research
consortium using public and private sector funds,
the investors collaborate to determine the terms
of commercialisation, to ensure that the needs of all
members of the consortium are properly balanced.
While the most usual path to market for commercial
research products from GRDC research investment will
be through licensing to suitable partners, investments
in joint ventures and companies to deliver the products
will be considered, based on the merits of business
cases that demonstrate that they will deliver the best
outcome for the industry.
The GRDCs commercial activity and investment in
wheat and barley will increase in 201314, building
on the GRDCs strategic decision to accelerate
development of particular crops (such as wheat
and barley) through a more commercial focus and
the engagement of the private sector. In addition,
a number of developments arising from GRDC
investments, some of which are likely to attract private
sector involvement, will be licensed this year. The
GRDC will also continue to seek access to research
and new technology for product development to
assist the Australian grains industry.
Planning and reporting
The Primary Industries and Energy Research and
Development Act 1989 sets out the legislative
framework and rules for the establishment and
operation of the GRDC.
As well as its responsibilities under that Act, the
corporation has accountability and reporting
obligations set out in the Commonwealth
Authorities and Companies Act 1997, the
Commonwealth Authorities (Annual Reporting)
Orders 2011 and the annual Finance Ministers
Orders for Financial Reporting.
Table 1 summarises the key elements of the annual
planning and reporting framework.
This document is the second of ve annual operational
plans to implement the GRDCs Strategic R&D Plan
201217, and is published in response to:
section 25 of the Primary Industries and Energy
Research and Development Act 1989, which
requires the annual operational plan to describe
how the activities planned for the year will satisfy
the objectives and strategies outlined in the
strategic R&D plan
a ministerial direction which requires the annual
operational plan to link planned outputs to the
strategic R&D plan, set out relevant performance
measures, and comply with the reporting
requirements outlined in the Commonwealth
Authorities (Annual Reporting) Orders 2011 under
the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies
Act 1997
advice from the Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry that the outcomes, outputs
and performance measures contained in the
annual operational plan are consistent with the
GRDCs input to the Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry Portfolio Budget Statements.
The GRDCs annual report for 201314 will report in
detail on the GRDCs performance in achieving the
objectives of this annual operational plan.
Table 1: Elements of the planning and reporting approach
Element Purpose
Annual operational plan Species the annual budget, resources and research priorities that give effect to the strategic R&D plan
during a given nancial year.
Annual procurement plan Makes procurement information publicly available through the Australian Governments AusTender website.
Annual report Provides information on RD&E activities and their performance in relation to the goals set in the annual
operational plan and portfolio budget statements for a given nancial year.
Growers report Provides performance information to growers on RD&E activities for a given nancial year.
Investment plan Informs potential research partners about some of the GRDCs new investment priorities for the next nancial
year and invites interested parties to submit research proposals.
Portfolio budget statements As part of the Australian Government budget process, summarises the planned outputs, outcomes,
performance information and nancial statements for a given nancial year.
Stakeholder report Provides information that assists Grain Producers Australia to determine whether it needs to discuss the
GRDC levy rate with the Minister.
Strategic R&D plan Sets out the GRDCs high-level goals, strategies and performance measures for a ve-year period, developed
in consultation with stakeholders and approved by the Minister.
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2 Investment
approach
Business environment
To ensure that its strategies remain relevant, the
GRDC continually monitors and reviews changes
in its business environment. Table 2 lists the
main factors expected to inuence the business
environment in 201314, and some of the
implications for the grains industry and the GRDC.
Strategy
The GRDCs Strategic R&D Plan 201217 provides a
template to ensure that the GRDC will invest 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 the ve years
from July 2012 to June 2017.
This plan embraces the principles, strategies and
implementation plan set out in the Grains Industry
National Research, Development and Extension
Strategy (Grains Industry National RD&E Strategy),
and integrates them with the identied priorities
of Australian grain growers and the Australian
Government. The ve-year strategy is also informed
by consultation with grain growers, representatives
of government and research partners, and other
relevant stakeholders.
The investment strategy is underpinned by a strategic
approach to achieving the planned outcomes of RD&E
that runs through all levels of the GRDCs operations.
The approach is based on ve key corporate
strategies, supported by the overall operational
strategy and enabling strategies, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 3 provides an overview of the planning
environment framework set out in the Strategic
R&D Plan 201217.
Table 2: Factors expected to inuence the GRDCs business environment
Factors Effects
Arrangements for grain marketing and
provision of industry good functions
Debate over wheat export marketing arrangements and the delivery of related industry good functions
such as port access arrangements, provision of information on stocks and maintenance of quality
standards may continue, with possible implications for the role of the GRDC. In particular, depending on
the outcome of work being done by Grain Trade Australias Port Access Code of Conduct Committee
and the Wheat Industry Advisory Taskforce, the GRDC may be requested to collate information for
industry use on grain stocks by state.
Carbon pricing Carbon pricing will affect the price of carbon-intensive inputs, requiring that they be applied more
efciently or that alternatives (such as pulses as a source of nitrogen) be identied.
Climate variability and production volatility Climate variability makes grain production volatile and increases risk across the grains industry. It will
continue to be a major factor inuencing revenue streams for growers and the GRDC.
Exchange rate volatility The effect of currency exchange rate volatility on gross margins will continue to make it difcult for
growers to make planting decisions with condence.
Grain price volatility Volatility in grain prices is increasing, affecting growers protability and the GRDCs ability to forecast
revenue and plan investment. This will inuence the GRDCs strategies to ensure that it has sufcient
nancial reserves and a stable levy rate, as well as its efforts to educate growers in effective business
and risk management strategies.
Implementation of the Grains Industry
National Research, Development and
Extension Strategy
The GRDC is a leader in the implementation of the Grains Industry National RD&E Strategy. To support
continuing implementation, there may be a need for as yet unplanned GRDC investment in capacity
building for the national grains RD&E sector.
Implementation of the Rural Research and
Development Policy Statement
In its 2012 Rural R&D Policy Statement, the Australian Government described its intentions to revise
the legislative and administrative framework for statutory rural R&D corporations, to enhance:
transparency and accountability
coordination and priority setting
mechanisms for pursuing productivity growth
operational efciencies and value for money.
Elements of the policy, such as amending the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development
Act 1989 to allow the introduction of statutory funding agreements for statutory rural R&D corporations,
may have implications for the GRDCs governance and operations.
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Figure 2: Overview of the GRDCs strategic approach
Primary objective:
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
Operational
strategy:
Allocate, manage,
communicate and evaluate
investment in grains RD&E
in a series of themes to
improve the value delivered
to growers and the
community
Enabling
strategies:
Conduct our business
efficiently and effectively
Invest in and reward
our people
Meeting
market
requirements
Improving
crop yield
Protecting
your crop
Advancing
profitable
farming
systems
Improving
your farm
resource base
Building skills
and capacity
Investment themes aligned
with stakeholder priorities
Corporate strategies
Create
value
Engage with
growers and
industry
Coordinate
nationally
Deliver
regionally
Connect
globally
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Figure 3: Relationships between government and industry priorities, the GRDC RD&E
investment themes and strategies, and the GRDC outcome and vision
Government
and industry
objectives
Australian Government priorities Industry priorities
Primary Industries and
Energy Research and
Development Act 1989
National
Research
Priorities
Rural R&D
Priorities
Grains Industry National
RD&E Strategy
Industry Priorities
Increased economic,
environmental and social benets
to members of primary industries
and to the community in general
by improving the production,
processing, storage, transport
or marketing of grain
Sustainable use and management
of natural resources
More effective use of the
resources and skills of the
community in general and the
scientic community in particular
Improved accountability for
expenditure on R&D activities
An
environmentally
sustainable
Australia
Promote and
maintain good
health
Frontier
technologies
for building and
transforming
Australian
industries
Safeguard
Australia
Productivity and
adding value
Supply chain
and markets
Climate
variability and
climate change
Biosecurity
Innovation skills
Technology
Improved processes to build on
existing national collaboration
Effective relationship models for
privatepublic coexistence
National research programs,
national centres of research
capacity and regional networks
of applied RD&E under the major-
support-link framework
National capability planning for
human and physical infrastructure
Better and ongoing alignment of
stakeholder priorities and RD&E
resource allocation
Meeting market
requirements
Improving crop yield
Protecting your crop
Advancing protable
farming systems
Improving your farm
resource base
Building skills and
capacity
GRDC RD&E
investment
themes
1 Meeting market
requirements
2 Improving crop
yield
3 Protecting your crop 4 Advancing
protable farming
systems
5 Improving your
farm resource base
6 Building skills and
capacity
Intermediate
outcomes
(5 years)
Understanding
market
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 canola
varieties.
Effective, sustainable and
efcient management of
weeds.
vertebrate and invertebrate
pests.
cereal rusts.
cereal (non-rust), pulse and
oilseed fungal pathogens.
nematodes.
viruses and bacteria.
Biosecurity and pesticide
stewardship.
Knowing what
is important
(key business
drivers).
Responding
strategically
(building
system
benets and
rotations).
Responding
tactically
(individual crop
agronomy).
Understanding
and adapting
to climate
variability.
Improving soil
health.
Managing water
use on dryland
and irrigated
grain farms.
Understanding
and valuing
biodiversity.
Communication
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.
Aspirational
outcomes
(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.
Cereal, pulse and
oilseed varieties
with signicant,
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 prot 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
environment and
market conditions
to reduce risk
and deliver
an increase in
protability.
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
corporate
strategies
Create value Coordinate nationally Deliver regionally Connect globally Engage with growers
and industry
GRDC
Outcome
Australian grain growers utilising new information and products that enhance the productivity, protability and sustainability of growers and
benet the grains industry and wider community.
GRDC Vision A protable and sustainable Australian grains industry, valued by the wider community.
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Process
Figure 4 provides an overview of the GRDCs
investment process; the following sections describe
the six key steps in the process.
Figure 4: Overview of the investment process
GPA = Grain Producers Australia, RCS = Regional Cropping Solutions
Growers, researchers,
consultants, GPA and
state farming
organisations, RCS
networks, updates,
forums, field days,
reference groups etc.
For projects
to begin in
201314
1.
Priorities
2.
Investment
Planning
Week
3.
External
investment
plan released
(call for
tenders)
5.
Status,
progress
and gap
review
6.
Assessment
of reports
Tender
responses
assessed
Aug.
Jul.
Mar.
Nov.
Aug.
Jul.
Mar.
Nov.
Aug.
Jul.
Mar.
Nov.
Manage
projects
For projects
to begin in
201415
1.
Priorities
2.
Investment
Planning
Week
3.
External
investment
plan released
(call for
tenders)
5.
Status,
progress and
gap review
6.
Assessment
of reports
Tender
responses
assessed
For projects
to begin in
201516
1.
Priorities
2.
Investment
Planning
Week
3.
External
investment
plan released
(call for
tenders)
Tender
responses
assessed
Manage
projects
Manage
projects
Assess
reports
Extension
and
adoption
201213
201314
201415
4.
Contracting
4.
Contracting
4.
Contracting
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Step 1Identication of priorities
Throughout the year, the GRDC improves its
understanding of grains industry RD&E priorities for the
year ahead. Potential issues are identied through:
interaction with growers, advisers and other
industry participants, through Regional Cropping
Solutions network activities such as grower
updates, adviser updates, forums and eld days
consultation with the GRDC regional panels, GPA,
researchers, state farming organisations and the
national and regional agribusiness reference groups
evidence from project reviews, project progress
reports and survey results
consideration of the Australian Governments
National Research Priorities and Rural R&D 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 nancial year is reported to
GPA, in the form of a draft stakeholder report, prior to
December. Final resource allocations at the theme level
are recommended to the GRDC Board in April of the
following calendar year.
Step 2Investment 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 identied 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 projects aims,
deliverables and approximate budgets. Each proposal
is categorised as a national investment or a regional
investment, and the appropriate procurement method
(open tender, limited tender, multistage tender or direct
negotiation) is identied.
The proposals are ranked by GRDC managers, taking
into account the relevant ve-year strategic R&D plan.
The GRDCs 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 nancial year)
is formulated.
Step 3Call for tenders
The external investment plan is released in August/
September. Investment proposals identied as suitable
for competitive tender are published in the plan, which
is posted on the GRDCs website during the period of
call for tenders. Tenders are evaluated against specic
selection criteria to determine the preferred provider(s).
About half of the total new investments in any
given year go to tender. Other projects are directly
negotiated, particularly where there is limited expertise
in a research area and/or there is a need for ongoing
access to co-owned intellectual property.
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 4Contracting
The contracting of projects for the next nancial year
begins after the Board gives preliminary approval to
theme allocations in August/September.
Step 5Status, progress and gap
review meeting
In February/March, GRDC managers and regional
panel members meet to review and formalise the
investments for the forthcoming nancial 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
nancial year is rened in line with the high-level
budget.
Investments and renements to budget are
reected in the drafts of the annual operational plan
and stakeholder report.
Strategic gaps are assessed, along with priorities
for investment identied through engagement with
stakeholders, to scope potential investments for
later nancial years.
After the meeting, the National Panel provides
revised theme allocations to the GRDC Board.
These recommendations form the basis of the annual
operational plan and the nalised stakeholder report.
The annual operational plan must be submitted to
the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by
1 May. Approval from the Minister is required prior to
the funding of projects.
Step 6Assessment of reports
In March each year, annual progress reports on
continuing investments are received and assessed by
GRDC managers, in terms of both the projects status
against contract milestones and the quality of the
report. The assessment process identies 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 benet 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, eld trials, training, decision-making 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 201217,
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 frequency of evaluation will match the
rate of practice change.
The GRDC is developing a monitoring, evaluation,
reporting and improvement plan for each theme.
Each plan includes a set of key evaluation questions
that, when tested, will enable the Board and GRDC
stakeholders to assess the progress made in relation
to the theme. For each question, the plan identies
performance indicators and sources of data that will
underpin the evaluation.
Results of the ongoing performance measurement will
be 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 efciently as possible.
The annual operational plan sets out the indicators that
will be used to measure the GRDCs performance in
delivering the outcomes of its investment themes and
meeting its organisational objectives. Progress toward
achieving the performance measures and targets
is recorded through formal reporting arrangements,
such as the annual report and the growers report,
as described in Table 1.
The GRDC also continually assesses the performance
of its programs and projects, including their impact
on the Australian grains industry and the wider
community, and regularly reports to stakeholders.
In 201314, the GRDC will undertake evaluations
that focus on the programs within the themes
developed for the ve-year plan, as well as
evaluations of completed projects.
The impact assessment methodology uses a
triple-bottom-line framework and is consistent with
the Council of Rural Research and Development
Corporation Chairs Guidelines for Evaluation. The
guidelines have been endorsed by the Productivity
Commission, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural
and Resource Economics and Sciences, and the
departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry;
Finance and Deregulation; and Treasury.
The GRDC also assesses its performance through
stakeholder surveys.
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3 RD&E
priorities
Grains industry priorities
The GRDC regularly reviews the RD&E
priorities of Australian grain growers and
the wider industry, through:
interaction with growers, advisers and other
industry participants, through Regional Cropping
Solutions network activities as well as grower
updates, adviser updates, forums and eld days
consultation with the GRDC regional panels, GPA,
researchers, state farming organisations and the
National Agribusiness Reference Group
analysis of project reviews, project progress
reports and survey results.
In addition, RD&E priorities for the grains industry
supply chain postfarm gate are identied through the
activities of, and GRDC discussions with, organisations
such as Wheat Quality Australia, Barley Australia,
Pulse Australia and the Australian Oilseeds Federation,
as well as traders and marketers in general. Scientic
opportunities to address grains industry issues post
farm gate are also identied, through interaction with
researchers and RD&E providers.
As described in Part 2, the GRDC identies specic
RD&E priorities across the grains industry each year,
largely through the work of the GRDCs regional
advisory panels (including their interaction with
Regional Cropping Solutions networks). In addition,
novel ideas are identied through the GRDCs
innovation investments program.
The GRDC has adopted the industrys key RD&E
priorities as its themes for investment in the Strategic
R&D Plan 201217. Table 3 shows the key industry
priorities for 201217.
Table 3: Grains industry priorities
RD&E priority Objective
Meeting market requirements Understanding market 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.
Improving crop yield Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of:
cereal varieties
pulse varieties
oilseed varieties.
Protecting your crop Effective, sustainable and efcient management of:
weeds
vertebrate and invertebrate pests
cereal rusts
cereal (non-rust), pulse and oilseed fungal pathogens
nematodes
viruses and bacteria.
Biosecurity and pesticide stewardship.
Advancing protable farming systems Knowing what is important (key business drivers).
Planning strategically (building system benets and rotations).
Responding tactically (individual crop agronomy).
Improving your farm resource base Understanding and adapting to climate variability.
Improving soil health.
Managing water use on dryland and irrigated grain farms.
Understanding and valuing biodiversity.
Communication of sustainable production methods.
Building skills and capacity Grains industry leadership and communication.
Capacity building in the extension sector and the R&D sector.
Capacity building for growers.
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Australian Government
priorities
The relevant Australian Government R&D priorities are
identied in the:
National Research Priorities announced in
December 2002, and their associated priority goals
Rural R&D Priorities announced to the rural R&D
corporations by the Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry in May 2007.
Table 4 shows the relationships between the
governments research priorities and their
associated goals.
Other national priorities
As described in the Strategic R&D Plan
201217, the GRDCs RD&E investments are
also informed by:
the priorities identied in the Grains Industry National
RD&E Strategy, and endorsed by the grains industry,
governments and the RD&E sector, in April 2011
the National Innovation Priorities announced by
the Australian Government in May 2009
the cross-sectoral research strategies developed
under the National Primary Industries RD&E
Framework.
The GRDC has embodied these objectives in its
operations and in its themes and planned outcomes
for RD&E investment.
Alignment with
investments
Through the approach described in Part 2, the GRDCs
investment strategy is designed to directly address the
RD&E priorities of the Australian grains industry and
the Australian Government and deliver benets to the
wider Australian community.
Table 5 provides examples of the alignment between
key priorities and GRDC investments in 201314.
(The expected total expenditure allocated to each
of the Australian Governments priorities is shown in
detail in Part 5.)
Table 4: Australian Government research priorities and associated goals
National Research Priorities
An environmentally
sustainable Australia
Promoting and
maintaining good health
Frontier technologies for
building and transforming
Australian industries Safeguarding Australia
A1: Watera critical resource
A2: Transforming existing
industries
A3: Overcoming soil loss, salinity
and acidity
A4: Reducing and capturing
emissions in transport and
energy generation
A5: Sustainable use of Australias
biodiversity
A6: Developing deep earth
resources
A7: Responding to climate
change and variability
B1: A healthy start to life
B2: Ageing well, ageing
productively
B3: Preventive healthcare
B4: Strengthening Australias
social and economic fabric
C1: Breakthrough science
C2: Frontier technologies
C3: Advanced materials
C4: Smart information use
C5: Promoting an innovation
culture and economy
D1: Critical infrastructure
D2: Understanding our region
and the world
D3: Protecting Australia from
invasive diseases and pests
D4: Protecting Australia from
terrorism and crime
D5: Transformational defence
technologies
Rural R&D Priorities
Productivity and
adding value
Improve the productivity
and protability of existing
industries and support the
development of viable new
industries
Supply chain
and markets
Better understand and
respond to domestic and
international market and
consumer requirements and
improve the ow of such
information through the
supply chain, including to
consumers
Natural resource
management
Support effective
management of Australias
natural resources to ensure
primary industries are
both economically and
environmentally sustainable
Climate variability
and climate change
Build resilience to climate
variability and adapt to
and mitigate the effects of
climate change
Biosecurity
Protect Australias
community, primary
industries and
environment from
biosecurity threats
Supporting the Rural R&D Priorities
Innovation skills
Improve the skills to undertake research and apply its ndings
Technology
Promote the development of new and existing technology
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Table 5: New investments to meet industry and Australian Government priorities
Industry
priorities/
GRDC
themes
National
Research
Priorities
Rural
R&D
Priorities Examples of GRDC activities
Advancing
protable
farming
systems
Promoting and
maintaining
good health
Productivity
and adding
value
Research seeking ways to:
maintain protable farming systems with retained stubble
improve delivery of information on soil fertility and nutrition
measure and monitor soil water in the Northern and Western regions
develop protable break crops for the Western Region.
Work to quantify and reduce the gap between actual and potential yield for wheat in key
agroecological zones.
The development of decision support tools to assist Southern Region barley growers to select
barley cultivars and management practices suited to their business structures and regional
market requirements.
Meeting
market
requirements
Supply chain
and markets
Research to:
quantify the cost of the late maturity alpha-amylase (LMA) classication criterion to growers
and wheat-breeding programs
provide LMA detection methods to breeders that enable them to exclude LMA-prone breeding
lines and guarantee a continuous ow of new varieties that do not contain the defect.
A project to analyse market opportunities for Australian pulses.
The development of high-throughput, objective quality standard evaluation methods for use by
Australian pulse-breeding programs.
Improving
your farm
resource
base
An
environmentally
sustainable
Australia
Natural
resource
management
Research to increase growers and advisers condence in:
diagnosing surface and subsoil acidity limitations to crop growth
using a range of strategies to ameliorate subsoil acidity, based on estimates of the risks and
returns to liming.
Work to ensure that growers will have continued access to the worlds best quality rhizobial and
non-rhizobial inoculants along with best practice guidelines for their use.
Research to quantify the effects of soil type, soil moisture, soil temperature, tillage and residue
management on herbicide residue levels.
A scoping study to investigate frameworks that would enable the grains industry to be
recognised by stakeholders and the wider community for its environmental credentials.
Climate
variability
and climate
change
Protecting
your crop
Safeguarding
Australia
Biosecurity
Work to ensure that the Australian grains industry has in place an appropriate pesticide
containment response to rapidly and effectively respond to the top 15 exotic high-priority plant
pests while maintaining grain yield and market access.
Research to manage on-farm biosecurity risks in wheat and pulses through pre-emptive
breeding of elite varieties with genetic resistance to emergency plant pests, thereby mitigating
the potential economic impact of high-risk incursions.
Research to develop and commercialise metarhizium-based biopesticides for the cost-effective
and sustainable control of aphids in canola and other sucking insects in pulses.
Research to reduce the economic impact of herbicide resistance on the grains industry through
the development of new, non-chemical weed control strategies.
A project to enable growers to cost-effectively manage crown rot in cereal crops and its impacts
on production, through the delivery of new tools in combination with variety resistance and
improved cultural practices.
Work to commercialise a new biopesticide for the control of pythium and rhizoctonia, resulting in
a reduction in soil-borne disease damage and a consequent yield increase.
Building skills
and capacity
Frontier
technologies
for building and
transforming
Australian
industries
Innovation
skills
Continued support for capacity-building awards in the grains industry, including PhD and
honours scholarships, Agricultural Training Awards, workshops, visiting fellowships, postdoctoral
fellowships, industry placements, cadetships and a grains industry gap year.
Continued support for the Primary Industry Centre for Science Education and other programs
which encourage school leavers to enter agriculture by improving understanding of and
promoting the career opportunities available in science-based primary industries.
A project to improve grower and industry adoption of social media and new electronic
technologies to improve access to information on a range of grains industry topics.
A series of technical workshops for growers and advisers on crop nutrition, water-use efciency
and the use of National Variety Trials data to make improved varietal decisions on farm.
Improving
crop yield
Technology
Research to develop wheat and barley cultivars with improved yield, quality and adaptation to
water-limited environments.
Work to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for wheat yield stability that will enable breeders to
develop wheat varieties with increased yield stability in response to heat, water decit, salinity
and cold stress.
Research using a novel mutation-based strategy to increase seed yield in canola that will enable
breeders to develop adapted canola varieties with signicantly increased grain size and yield.
Research using molecular markers to develop canola varieties, adapted to Australian
environments, that have resistance to blackleg, increased shattering tolerance and tolerance to
drought greater than that of current commercial varieties.
Proof-of-concept studies examining the potential for transferring staygreen genes from sorghum
to other cereals.
Research to develop, and deliver to all Australian wheat breeders, molecular selection tools for
key genes involved in transpiration efciency in wheat.
Research on the manipulation of wheat photosynthesis to increase grain yield in order to develop
new wheat cultivars with water-limited yield potential increases beyond current theoretical limits.
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4 Goals and
performance
measures
Investment themes
The outcomes of the RD&E investment themes
established in the Strategic R&D Plan 201217 are
delivered by the GRDCs three operational business
groupsResearch Programs, Commercial, and
Regional Grower Servicessupported by the
Corporate Services business group.
The GRDC has determined the scope, outcomes
and targets for each of the six investment themes in
201314. Where possible, performance metrics to
track the progress of the desired practice changes
for each theme have been quantied. A cross-theme
priority for 201314 is to quantify the current baseline
conditions as far as possible and identify and further
develop indicators and sources of data to be used in
monitoring performance.
This section highlights examples of the RD&E
planned for each theme in 201314 (more examples
are provided in Table 5 in Part 3). A full list of RD&E
investments will be published in the GRDCs annual
report for 201314.
Theme 1Meeting market
requirements
This theme describes the framework for the GRDCs
investments in grain quality and functionality to help
growers maintain and expand access to markets.
Australias domestic and international customers seek
a consistent supply of a grain that is both:
a quality product that is compliant with statutory
and customer-specic 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 will interact 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.
Outcomes, budget and performance
measures
Table 6 shows the 201314 investment budget,
targets for each major practice change and the key
performance metrics for Theme 1Meeting market
requirements, in the context of its intermediate and
aspirational outcomes.
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Table 6: Overview of Theme 1Meeting market requirements
Theme 1Meeting market requirements
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 grainAcquisition 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 requirementsGrowers use market information to select crop, variety and cropping sequence
that addresses their prot and risk.
Crop production aligned with market requirementsGrowers 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 requirementsGrowers adopt harvest and storage practices to maximise their
potential to deliver grain that meets the quality and functionality requirements of the target market.
Investment budget for 201314
$16.7 million
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.
Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre joint venture is
established and operating appropriately.
The GRDC has established effective working relationships with
marketers, buyers and traders of Australian grains to access greater
information about markets.
More data is available about the likely future scale, growth and
longevity of markets and market segments.
Up-to-date information on functionality and regulatory requirements
of different markets is available to the GRDC and to growers.
The GRDC makes greater use of market information in its
RD&E investment decisions.
Increased number of growers use some form of quality assurance
system to demonstrate their compliance with technical market
access requirements.
The GRDC makes greater use of information on current and potential
future markets to guide investment decisions.
Crop and variety selection aligned with market requirements
A greater proportion of growers and advisers use market information to
inform crop and variety selection.
Increased number of growers adjust crop and variety selection
based on market requirement data.
Breeding programs make greater use of market information in
setting quality and functionality targets.
Increased interaction between grains industry participants (growers,
pre-breeders, breeders and value chain participants) 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 classication is maintained.
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.
Industry best management practice guides for crop management
take account of market requirements.
Increased number of growers are aware of and monitor for receival
standards, including quality parameters, adventitious presence and
maximum residue levels.
A greater proportion of grain growers adjust pest, weed and disease
management practices to meet 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.
Industry harvest and storage best management practice guides
are developed to include information about technical barriers to
trade such as food and feed safety standards, and biosecurity,
phytosanitary and sustainability requirements.
Increased number of growers are aware of the effects of seasonal
risks, harvest and storage practices on grain quality (moisture,
damage or desiccation).
Adoption by growers of practices that preserve grain quality and
integrity attributes is increased.
Increased number of growers use objective testing methods to
substantiate and track the quality and integrity attributes of the
grain they deliver to markets.
A greater proportion of growers are aware of the quality and functionality
of the grain delivered to their customer or entering contract storage.
90% or more of growers are aware of and interested in the benets
of measuring grain quality.
A greater proportion of growers use storage practices to meet
market requirements and provide for the continued effectiveness of
pest control measures.
At least 60% of growers storing grain on farm use sealed silos.
The GRDC uses market access information to provide growers with the
harvest and storage management packages and tools to comply with
market requirements.
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Investment highlights for 201314
This section provides a few examples of major RD&E
investments that illustrate the GRDCs focus on
Meeting market requirements in the year ahead.
Wheat functionality
Protein content and composition are the major
determinants of functionality of wheat. Harder wheat
grades, which have higher protein levels, are used
in products such as bread and noodles, and
attract premium prices in Australias domestic
and export markets.
Currently, the very high protein grade Australian Prime
Hard makes up only a small proportion of Australias
wheat production. Particularly in Western Australia, soil
quality and seasonal constraints favour the production
of lower protein wheat varieties.
To improve Australias access to high-value markets
and assist growers to achieve higher prices without
increasing inputs, the GRDC is supporting pre-
breeding research to deliver high-protein elite wheat
germplasm and associated molecular markers to
Australian breeders, to assist the development of
new varieties with expanded functionality under
Australian conditions.
The research aims to produce wheat lines with
signicant increase in dough strength and bread-
making quality, even when grown in low-nitrogen
conditions.
Field trials will be conducted in a range of
environments, to validate added functionality and
test for effects on yield and other agronomic traits
in preliminary experiments, some yield increases have
been observed. The rheological properties of the grain
will also be assessed, with input from the baking and
milling industries, to ensure that any new lines deliver
the attributes that target markets require.
Extensigraph measurements
Extensigraph measurements assess the dough
properties of our, based on two parameters
maximum resistance, and extensibility. The information
is widely used by millers and their customers and
informs international wheat trading. Extensigraph
measurements are used in quality assurance by the
Australian and international grains industries, and form
part of the Australian wheat classication process.
In wheat breeding, extensigraph testing is applied
to only a small number of lines, at a late stage in
variety development, because it requires signicant
quantities of our. Culling for dough properties late in
the breeding process can result in the discontinuation
of a high proportion of late-stage germplasm, delaying
the delivery of improved varieties to growers. Breeders
have advised the GRDC that predictive molecular
marker tools that would enable them to select for
dough quality traits earlier in the wheat-breeding
process could provide a competitive advantage for
the Australian grains industry.
In 201314, the GRDC will provide support to enable
pre-breeding researchers to incorporate extensigraph
measurements into their ongoing work on the genetic
analysis of wheat quality traits. As well as improving
understanding of the interactions between traits, this
investment will support the development of molecular
markers for the dough quality characteristics sought by
elite baking and noodle-making markets.
The delivery of low-cost, high-throughput germplasm
selection tools will enhance the ability of breeding
programs to meet classication and market
specications and deliver improved, higher yielding
wheat varieties to growers in a timely manner.
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Theme 2Improving crop yield
This theme will examine and enhance 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
deciency, soil toxicity, weed competition, insect
damage and disease.
Although the actual yield that is captured on farm
depends on a growers ability to manage the biotic and
abiotic factors that contribute to yield losses (and the
cost limitations of management practices), WLYP has
genetic determinants.
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 specic and
region specic.
measures
targets for each major practice change and key
performance metrics for Theme 2Improving
crop yield, in the context of its intermediate and
Table 7: Overview of Theme 2Improving crop yield
Theme 2Improving crop yield
Cereal, pulse and oilseed varieties with signicant, sustained and stable improvements in water-limited yield potential over current elite varieties
in key agroecological zones and across a range of seasons.
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of cereal varietiesGrowers access and increase production of adapted cereal varieties
with a signicant yield potential and stability increase over current elite varieties.
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of pulse varietiesGrowers access and increase production of adapted pulse varieties with
a signicant yield potential and stability increase over current elite varieties.
Genetic yield potential and stability improvement of canola varietiesGrowers access and increase production of adapted oilseed varieties
which continue to meet target oil levels with a signicant yield potential and stability increase over current elite varieties.
$40.0 million
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
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.
New cereal varieties have minimum yield increases equivalent to
1% per annum as measured in National Variety Trials (NVT) trials.
New pulse varieties have minimum yield increases equivalent to
2% per annum as measured in NVT trials.
New oilseed varieties have minimum yield increases equivalent to
1.5% per annum as measured in NVT trials.
A best practice breeding chain is in operation for each major
crop type, taking a holistic view of genetic improvement from
germplasm acquisition and enhancement through to release of
superior varieties to the nal customer.
All breeding programs operate efciently, as measured by time
and funds required to develop regionally adopted superior
varieties from acquisition of required traits to delivery.
Improved information about variety yield potential and stability
under regional conditions is available to growers.
Increased number of growers access and use this information
to assist their decisions about crop type and variety, and about
rotations.
Growers in each major cropping region have access to at least
one pulse and one oilseed variety that is consistently protable
and therefore suitable as a rotation crop.
A signicant increase in water-limited yield potential is achieved
for each major crop type (cereals, pulses and oilseeds).
Increased number of pre-breeders develop priority traits in breeder-dened
genetic backgrounds, and ready-to-implement selection tools to drive rapid
adoption by breeding programs.
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.
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.
New varieties currently available meet the expectations of at least
60% of growers.
40% of growers and their advisers use the NVT online data or attend an
NVT eld day, and of these 90% consider that the information obtained
helped them in deciding which varieties to plant.
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Improving crop yield in the year ahead.
Flowering time
In Australia, crop yield is typically constrained by
seasonal water limitations and by a narrow window
for owering, between late frost events and the onset
of high temperatures. A major challenge for wheat
growers is to choose crops that can take advantage
of local seasonal conditions and ower at the optimal
time to deliver maximum yield.
However, the choice of wheat varieties for particular
sowing dates or seasonal conditions is limited. It is
expensive and labour intensive for breeders to
produce multiple maturity versions of elite varieties
while maintaining the balance of other desirable traits
such as high grain quality, disease resistance, abiotic
stress tolerance and high yield potential.
The GRDC is supporting pre-breeding research
focused on two genes that together control around
80 percent of the variation in heading date in wheat:
VRN1, which determines the degree to which plants
require prolonged exposure to winter cold in order to
ower rapidly; and PPD1, which determines the extent
to which plants require long days to ower rapidly.
The research will give wheat breeders access to elite
germplasm with varying owering times, enabling
them to develop varieties optimally adapted to target
production environments.
Building on the success of earlier projects, in 201314
this work will deliver:
multiple maturity versions of current elite wheats,
each suited to different agroecological zones or
sowing dates
novel genetic selection tools for owering
behaviours, which maximise yield potential by
increasing the duration of spike development
without compromising the nal heading date
improved models to accurately predict heading
date for diverse materials across a range of
locations, sowing dates and climate conditions.
Water-limited yield stability
Water availability is the major factor limiting yield in
rain-fed environments, and traits that enable plants
to x more carbon under moisture stress are likely to
result in increased yield. Stay-greena plants capacity
to retain green leaf area for longer during the grain-
lling period, under moisture stressis such a trait.
GRDC-supported research has identied variation
for the stay-green trait in wheat associated with root
architectural characteristics that allow more moisture
to be extracted at depth late in the season. Research
is now being undertaken to determine whether the
stay-green phenotype arises as a consequence of the
identied root traits or is determined independently.
Computer simulation modelling is also being
conducted, to assess the adaptive value of the root
angle and root number traits.
Subject to the conrmation of a causal relationship
between the root traits and yield, in 201314 the
researchers will introgress the stay-green trait into a
range of elite cultivars or regionally adapted advanced
breeding lines nominated by wheat breeders. The yield
advantages of the resulting crosses will be evaluated in
target production environments in northern and central
New South Wales and western Victoria.
Molecular marker technology
The GRDC has been investing in the development
of molecular marker technologies since the 1990s,
most recently through the Australian Wheat and
Barley Molecular Marker Program (AWBMMP) and
the Australian Durum Wheat Improvement Program.
Molecular marker development for durum breeding will
be integrated into the AWBMMP in 201314.
The AWBMMP meets breeders needs by:
using genetic analysis to develop knowledge about
the associations of markers with traits and deliver
diagnostic markers to breeding programsbased
on the priorities of breeders, this work has focused
on key biotic stress targets (non-rust) in both
wheat and barley, and selected end-use quality
traits in wheat
establishing a single nucleotide polymorphism
(SNP) genomic resource for the Australian wheat
industrythis work has enhanced processes for
the identication of trait-linked markers for use
in breeding, the prioritisation of candidate genes
involved in trait expression for detailed functional
analysis, and the map-based cloning of causal
genes underlying trait quantitative trait loci (QTL).
In response to a review of AWBMMP conducted
in 2012, wheat- and barley-breeding programs
conrmed the need for research to identify genes for
biotic and quality traits of specic interest to Australia.
The identication of appropriate mapping populations
and development of good phenotyping data were seen
as critical research priorities.
In 201314, the GRDC will continue to support
AWBMMPs work, to speed the development and
enhance the understanding of genetic mechanisms
and genes for trait expression, enable faster
development of improved varieties for Australian
growers of wheat, durum wheat and barley, and
provide the molecular tools, superior germplasm
and genetic knowledge needed for a wide range
of breeding and research applications.
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Theme 3Protecting 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 prot.
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
exibility to t different farming systems.
measures
performance metrics for Theme 3Protecting
your crop, in the context of its intermediate and
Table 8: Overview of Theme 3Protecting your crop
Australian grain growers managing their farms to maximise prot and reduce risk by adopting effective, sustainable and
efcient control of weeds, pests and diseases.
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of weedsGrowers use a combination of new genetic, biological, cultural and
chemical weed management tools to reduce crop losses and minimise control costs.
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of vertebrate and invertebrate pestsGrowers 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 efcient management of cereal rustsGrowers 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 efcient management of cereal (non-rust), pulse and oilseed fungal pathogensGrowers 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 efcient management of nematodesNew genetic, biological and cultural management tools
for the control of nematodes are delivered.
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of viruses and bacteriaGrowers use a combination of new genetic and
cultural management tools for the control of viruses and bacteria.
Biosecurity and pesticide stewardshipEffective biosecurity and science-based support is available for pesticide and
genetic technology stewardship.
$36.3 million
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of weeds
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of vertebrate and invertebrate pests
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of cereal rusts
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of cereal (non-rust), pulse and oilseed fungal pathogens
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of nematodes
Effective, sustainable and efcient management of viruses and bacteria
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers monitor crops
for pests, weeds and diseases.
New and cost-effective control methods for weeds, pests and diseases,
including new chemistries and non-chemical control tactics, are delivered
to the grains industry.
Regionally validated information is readily available to growers and
advisers about the benets (both nancial and from avoidance of
resistance to chemicals) of integrated methods for control of weeds,
pests and diseases.
Increased number of growers are adopting integrated control methods.
Breeders and pre-breeders use available genetic diversity for
resistance and tolerance breeding.
Growers and their advisers cost-effectively manage pests, weeds
and diseases.
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Table 8: Overview of Theme 3Protecting your crop continued
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers use practices to
increase pesticide longevity and reduce the risk of resistance.
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.
Growers have the skills to monitor crops and correctly identify weeds,
pests and diseases, as well as benecial organisms; determine whether or
not control is warranted; and select the most suitable control method for
their situation.
Breeding programs efciently use the available genetic diversity to improve
varietal resistance to weeds, pests and diseases.
Growers reduce their planting of varieties known to be susceptible to
pests and diseases, including to disease vectors.
Periodic compilations of industry data demonstrate that cost savings are
being achieved in the control of weeds, pests and diseases.
The GRDC and other industry participants use these compilations to
guide investment decisions.
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.
Growers are aware of assessments of biosecurity threats to the grains
industry, adopt on-farm biosecurity measures, and know what to do in the
event of an incursion.
Pre-breeding programs are developing germplasm with a high resistance
to identied high-risk biosecurity threats.
Breeders and pre-breeders use available genetic diversity to
deliver varieties resistant to high-risk biosecurity threats.
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.
90% of growers undertake activities to delay the onset of or
manage herbicide resistance in weed populations.
Protecting your crop in the year ahead.
Insecticides for mites
Resistance to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides in
mitesin particular, red-legged earth mite (RLEM)
populations in Western Australiais an increasing
threat to the Australian grains industry. However,
the fact that miticides do not rank highly in global
insecticide discovery has limited commercial
development of new chemical controls for mites.
In 201314, the GRDC will invest in research to
develop tools and knowledge to assist growers to
cost-effectively manage and contain RLEM insecticide
resistance and threats from other mite species,
reducing establishment risks and the costs of lost
production.
This project will develop:
a model to predict the evolution and spread
of insecticide resistance in mites, including
genetic analysis of multiple resistance events
and gene ow
new knowledge on the tness cost to mites of
acquiring insecticide resistance, and on the role
of benecial predators in controlling mites
an active national surveillance program and testing
service for insecticide resistance in mites
data packages for emergency permits and/or
registrations for at least two new chemical modes
of action for control of RLEM and other mite
species, including new application methods and
fenceline control options
a strategy to help growers manage the effects
and minimise the spread of insecticide resistance
in mites.
The resistance management strategy and knowledge
developed through the project will be extended to
growers and their advisers through a range of events
and publications, including training and mentoring
programs funded by the GRDC.
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Weed management in mixed farming systems
The uptake of conservation farming has changed the
way in which grain growers manage weeds, increasing
their reliance on herbicides. To maintain the protability
of no-till farming systems and reduce the risks
associated with herbicide resistance, growers need
access to innovative weed management strategies that
integrate chemical and non-chemical control tactics.
From 201314, the GRDC will support a project to
identify effective new weed management strategies for
mixed farming systems, and deliver them to growers,
in the Southern Region.
The project will develop regionally specic knowledge
of weed epidemiology and the effects of cultural
and chemical weed management practices and use
patterns, over a period of ve years. It will include
annual surveys on herbicide resistance in key weed
species such as annual rye grass, barley grass,
brome grass, windmill grass, eabane, wild radish
and Indian hedge mustardfor targeted subregions.
The research will lead to improved options for mixed
farming systems the form of:
new understanding of effective ways to combine
weed management tools to reduce production
losses and minimise weed control costs
new chemical uses registered as label changes
with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary
Medicines Authority.
Guidance on improved, cost-effective ways
to identify weed populations and design and
implement systematic weed management plans,
based on chemical and non-chemical controls, will
be provided to growers and their advisers through
GRDC-supported training programs.
Root rot resistance in chickpeas
Necrotrophic fungal diseases, driven by recent high
average rainfall and conservation farming practices,
are causing concern for the Australian grains industry.
There are considerable gaps in current knowledge
of the epidemiology of some diseases, such as
phytophthora root rot, and mutation or incursion of
new biotypes of existing diseases are constant threats.
In chickpea, phytophthora root rot has been identied
as one of the important diseases that limit yield.
In 201314, the GRDC will support research to
increase and stabilise protability for chickpea growers
by reducing the economic costs associated with the
control of phytophthora root rot. The work will include:
monitoring pathogen populations to detect
changes in virulence, to improve understanding of
the virulence spectrum of the phytophthora root
rot pathogen and reduce the risk of unexpected
disease epidemics
expanding knowledge of the genetics of resistance
to phytophthora root rot
identifying, characterising and introgressing new
genetic sources of disease resistance
developing new molecular markers and
technologies linked to disease resistance, to
facilitate rapid introgression into elite genotypes.
The project will deliver improved parental genetic
stocks, new knowledge and enhanced screening
techniques to chickpea breeders. The genetic
materials will mainly be in elite backgrounds nominated
by breeders, which will speed the commercialisation of
varieties with diverse and adequate levels of disease
resistance. Improved varieties have the potential
to slow the spread of phytophthora root rot, while
assisting chickpea growers to substantially increase
yield and protability.
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Theme 4Advancing protable
farming systems
This theme aims to provide growers and their advisers
with the tools to design and manage a farming system
with the exibility to adapt and respond; manage risk;
and generate prot.
The Advancing protable farming systems theme will:
ensure that research results from the other
themes are integrated on farm
undertake production agronomy research for
systems development
provide an important conduit for identifying
on-farm production constraints and opportunities
to inform activities in other themes.
The investment strategies for this theme will differ
across agroecological zones and farming systems,
and will be 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.
measures
performance metrics for Theme 4Advancing
protable farming systems, in the context of its
intermediate and aspirational outcomes.
Table 9: Overview of Theme 4Advancing protable farming systems
Theme 4Advancing protable farming systems
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 protability.
Knowing what is important (key business drivers)Identication and understanding of the opportunities, risks and
potential impacts of key farming practices in each agroecological zone is improved.
Planning strategically (building system benets and rotations)Growers adopt integrated management of opportunities
and constraints to increase prot and minimise risk across seasons (above the ve-year rolling average).
Responding tactically (individual crop agronomy)Gross margin generated from the major crops in each agroecological zone is increased.
$33.8 million
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.
The GRDC receives information at least annually via the regional panels.
Data about the key opportunities, constraints and risks
to protable farming systems is available for each GRDC
agroecological zone.
Validated tools are available to enable growers and
advisers to assess and rank opportunities, constraints
and risks, to assist long-term planning of enterprises
and farming systems, and to benchmark crop and
farm performance.
Data is available showing the changes in prot, cash
receipts, input costs and other nancial indicators being
achieved by growers who have adopted the strategic
and tactical optimisation of their farming system.
Data is also available in each zone about how whole-farm and farming system
decisions affect those opportunities, constraints and risks.
Better methods and tools are developed for comparison and ranking of the impacts
of opportunities and risks on farm prot and sustainability, both short and long term.
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers use information and tools to
identify and rank constraints and opportunities to increase prot.
70% of growers place a high importance on the use of decision tools to assist
them with strategic or tactical decision making.
Planning strategically (building system benets and rotations)
A greater proportion of growers and their advisers are aware of the actual and
potential impacts of their management on the farming systems across seasons and
across the farm, based on regionally validated data as well as their own records.
Increased number of growers use their knowledge of
the cross-season effects of management practices to
optimise their cropping system for both opportunities and
constraints (for example, to improve long-term water-use
and nutrient-use efciencies, or to control weeds, pests
and diseases).
Strategic decisions and practices are tested, validated
and demonstrated in each agroecological zone, and
captured in regionally relevant best management
practice publications.
Growers implement long-term, strategic plans to take advantage of identied
opportunities, manage constraints and reduce risks, while retaining exibility 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.
Effective management practices for opportunities, constraints and risks are
developed, validated and demonstrated in each agroecological zone.
Responding tactically (individual crop agronomy)
An increased proportion of growers use crop-specic best management practices
to optimise their tactical (within season) agronomy for each individual crop.
Annual, crop-specic decisions and practices are tested,
validated and demonstrated in each agroecological zone,
and captured in regionally relevant best management
practice publications.
Growers use improved strategies to cost-effectively acquire crop inputs.
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This section provides a few examples of major
RD&E investments that illustrate the GRDCs focus
on Advancing protable farming systems in the
year ahead.
The yield gap
Many growers across the Northern Region are not
capturing the full environmental yield potential of the
crop varieties that they are growing. In 201314, the
GRDC will invest in RD&E to show growers what yields
they could achieve through different agronomic and
crop protection practices, outline the opportunity costs
of ineffective crop management, and demonstrate
ways to improve yields through better agronomy.
Focusing on wheat, barley and canola, with potential
to extend to other crops, the suite of projects will:
establish the environmental yield potential in each
of the major zones of the Northern Region, through
data collection, analysis and modelling
work with key growers and advisers to validate the
estimates of yield potential
create an understanding of the current losses and
the yields to be achieved through better agronomy
identify the major technical factors and decision-
making factors that, if addressed, would close the
yield gap.
Targeted extension activities and decision-making tools
that draw on the new knowledge will assist growers in
the Northern Region to:
understand the gaps between the actual and
potential yields of their crops in their environment
set yield targets appropriate to their crops and the
plant-available water capacity of their soils
identify and address the management practices
that are limiting their actual yields.
In addition, the GRDC and its research partners will be
able to use the project ndings to inform their RD&E
investment strategies for the region.
Stubble management
Retaining stubble through to planting can assist grain
growers to improve the protability and sustainability of
their farming systems by:
maximising the capture and retention of soil
moisture and carbon
reducing energy inputs and nutrient losses
making weeds, pests and diseases easier to
manage
increasing seeding opportunities by improving
soil moisture
allowing for judicious grazing of stubble in mixed
farming systems.
However, stubble retention has been less widely
adopted in the Southern Region than in other parts of
Australia. Growers and advisers are uncertain about
the productivity benets of stubble retention in the
region, where high stubble loads tend to suppress
yield in wetter seasons and have no apparent effect
on yield in drier years. Although there is a broad
understanding of the relevant factors, the full range of
interactions between stubble and season is not clear
or readily predictable.
From 201314, the GRDC will invest in an initiative
to assist growers in the Southern Region to make
better informed decisions about stubble retention.
The initiative will include:
a review of current knowledge and extension
materials on stubble retention in cropping systems,
identifying gaps for the region as a whole and for
specic agroecological zones
regional research programs to increase the
understanding of the interactions between stubble
retention and season and provide tools for
predicting and managing the likely outcomes
the development and delivery of regional
programs to extend the research outcomes and
ll knowledge gaps.
Break crops
Although pulse and oilseed break crops have many
potential benets, grain growers in the Northern and
Southern regions often consider them to be unreliable
in terms of both production and market risk.
In 201314, the GRDC will support a project to provide
growers and their advisers with up-to-date information
on best practice management for the major pulse and
oilseed crops in their agroecological zones. The aim
is to achieve a measurable increase in the adoption of
pulse and oilseed break crops, aided by more growers
actively managing the price risks and opportunities
associated with those crops.
The project will improve the availability and uptake
of information in areas such as improved agronomy,
appreciation of market requirements, and ways
to decrease inputs and reduce losses. It will draw
on the pulse- and oilseed-specic information
generated by numerous agronomic research projects
being undertaken by public and private institutions
throughout the Northern and Southern regions, as well
as the large volume of knowledge and data previously
generated by GRDC-supported research.
Tailored management packages will be developed for
various crops in particular areas of the Northern and
Southern regions, including information on agronomy,
disease management, herbicides, harvesting and
handling strategies, and marketing. The materials
generated will include manuals and training courses
for growers and agronomists as well as an industry-
endorsed website, and will provide production and
price risk management advice for nine major pulse
and oilseed crops.
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Theme 5Improving your farm
resource base
This theme is focused on protecting and enhancing the
farms 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 signicantly 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
changefor 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 efcient, 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 benecial 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.
measures
performance metrics for Theme 5Improving your
farm resource base, in the context of its intermediate
and aspirational outcomes.
Table 10: Overview of Theme 5Improving your farm resource base
Theme 5Improving your farm resource base
Grain growers are valued for adopting practices that improve regional habitat, soil, water and atmosphere resources in a changing climate.
Understanding and adapting to climate variabilityFarm business plans provide the exibility to respond to the risks
and opportunities of a changing and variable climate.
Improving soil healthSoil health is improved and soil, nutrient and chemical losses are reduced.
Managing water use on dryland and irrigated grain farmsWater-use efciency, 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 biodiversityBiodiversity is managed on farm for ecosystem services (such as habitat,
amenity, pollination and protability).
Communication of sustainable production methodsMarkets and the broader community recognise the environmental credentials
of grain farm businesses.
$9.8 million
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.
A range of farming system options to respond to
climate variability and change is developed and tested
for each major grain-growing region.
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.
Increased number of growers are aware of their farms
greenhouse gas emissions prole, and are adopting
appropriate mitigation strategies.
Growers use improved seasonal forecasts and tools to manage their farm business in
response to climate variability.
Growers seek information about the possible impacts of long-term climate changes
on crop growth patterns and adopt enterprise and crop decisions and agronomic
practices required to optimise prot and manage risk.
60% of growers consider the potential effects of climate change on their farm
business when making long-term decisions.
Growers seek information about potential mitigation strategies to reduce on-farm
greenhouse gas emissions, and adopt them where feasible.
Researchers incorporate farm-scale data in the improvement of climate and
weather modelling.
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Theme 5Improving your farm resource base
Improving soil health
Growers adopt agronomic practices that improve the chemical, physical and biological
health of the soil for sustained productivity.
60% or more of growers undertake activities to improve the condition and
productive capacity of their soils.
Increased number of growers regularly measure
the health (productive capacity) of their soils, and
incorporate this information into their land-use and
cropping decisions.
Growers are aware of and are adopting management
practices that will maintain and improve their soils
productive capacity and minimise losses due
to erosion.
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.
Managing water use on dryland and irrigated grain farms
Growers manage water quantity and quality on farm to improve efciency 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).
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 on farm (including for stock or for spraying) and
of water leaving the farm.
Growers implement appropriate and efcient practices that minimise adverse impacts
on surface and groundwater quality leaving the farm.
At least 65% of growers use nutrient budgeting to better match application with
anticipated crop needs.
Understanding and valuing biodiversity
Growers and their advisers recognise the potential benets of biodiversity in the
landscape to their farming systems.
Growers develop and adopt vegetation management
plans for their farm to assist crop production (e.g.
through maintaining benecial insects or use of
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 benets,
or farm amenity.
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 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
Growers recognise themselves as sustainable food producers rather than bulk
commodity producers.
Increased number of growers adopt some form of
quality assurance, environmental management system
or other stewardship scheme 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 management plans and programs.
Growers communicate their responsible use of farm inputs and the natural resource
base to the broader community.
Growers understand, calculate and communicate the carbon and water footprint of
the products they produce.
Improving the farm resource base in the year ahead.
Lime application
Soil pH is critical to the maintenance and improvement
of soil health and, in turn, crop yield. In the Southern
and Western regions, acidity in surface soils and
subsoils is a major constraint to crop productivity.
The easiest way to ameliorate soil acidity is to apply
lime, but growers tend to apply lime suboptimally.
Recent estimates indicate that in the Southern and
Western regions the shortfall in lime application
equates to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost
production and lime sales are around only half the
quantity required to balance the estimated annual rate
of soil acidication.
In the past, awareness campaigns have been highly
effective in raising levels of lime application in the short
term. In 201314, the GRDC will support an up-to-
date campaign to promote the effective use of lime to
address acidity and improve productivity.
The project will include practical help to increase
growers skills and condence, such as assistance
with testing soil and developing lime application plans.
It will also highlight the advantages of new technologies:
for example, how GPS mapping of yield and soil
parameters can be useful in planning variable rate
application and keeping paddock management records.
Table 10: Overview of Theme 5Improving your farm resource base continued
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The campaign will involve face-to-face activities such
as soil-sampling programs, attendance at eld days,
and training programs for growers, advisers and
agronomists. A website and phone apps will deliver
tools and information that will be regularly updated
beyond the life of the campaign, providing a lasting
resource to encourage effective use of lime in the
longer term.
Environmental performance
Social and political expectations surrounding
accountability for environmental performance are
placing new demands, including regulatory demands,
upon grain producers, particularly in areas such
as managing the impact of spray drift, preserving
remnant vegetation and protecting water quality.
Other agricultural industries, such as cotton and
horticulture, have responded to environmental
performance pressure by benchmarking and
monitoring the management of natural resources by
producers. For example, the cotton industry, under
a memorandum of understanding with the Queensland
Government and the Queensland Farmers Federation,
has translated new regulatory requirements into
industry language in the form of best practice
recommendations, supported by extension and
certication services.
In 201314, the GRDC will invest in a desktop
stocktake to quantify the environmental performance of
the grains industry in the Southern and Western regions.
The project will review relevant legislation and compile
existing data concerning the management of soil, pests,
biodiversity, water, and greenhouse gas emissions, and
produce a public report on the current health of the
environment in which the industry operates.
The state of the environment report will highlight
areas where performance is deemed sustainable
against legislative requirements, and identify any areas
where there is potential to improve performance, close
knowledge gaps or enhance data collection.
As well as providing a baseline for strategies
to improve the grains industrys environmental
performance, the report will be used to communicate
the environmental credentials of the industry among
stakeholders, including the wider community, in the
Southern and Western regions.
Theme 6Building 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 identied 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 inadequatethis 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 changes
the uptake of technology often requires substantial
technical support.
Through the Building skills and capacity theme,
the GRDC has identied opportunities to focus its
investment to address these challenges.
measures
performance metrics for Theme 6Building skills
and capacity, in the context of its intermediate and
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Table 11: Overview of Theme 6Building skills and capacity
Theme 6Building skills and capacity
A dynamic Australian grains industry with the skills and capacity to continuously innovate.
Grains industry leadership and communicationThe Australian grains industry has the leadership and communication capacity
to proactively engage with the broader Australian community.
Capacity building in the extension sectorAustralia has a skilled agricultural extension sector with access to appropriately skilled people.
Capacity building in the R&D sectorAustralia 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 growersGrowers recognise the benets to their businesses of acquiring additional skills and knowledge
and hence the value of their participation in training and continuous learning.
$7.8 million
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 Nufeld scholars are from the grains industry
each year.
Leadership positions within the Australian grains industry can
be lled with minimal delay by candidates who have the skills,
knowledge and experience required.
The grains industry communicates information about potential career
opportunities to secondary and tertiary students and their parents and
career advisers.
The grains industry publicises how it benets the wider community.
Capacity building in the extension sector
The extension sector collates and publishes annually its skills
requirements and identies gaps and potential gaps in discipline areas.
The extension sector regularly communicates its training
requirements for skilled personnel, including any gaps in discipline
areas, and provides these to training organisations.
Training opportunities available through vocational education and
training (VET) programs, graduate and postgraduate studies, and
non-award courses meet the needs of the sector.
Increased number of undergraduates successfully complete
agriculture-related courses.
Proportion of people in the extension sector with relevant graduate
and post-graduate qualications is increasing.
Increased number of people enrol in targeted agriculture-related disciplines.
Increased number of qualied graduates are employed in extension roles.
Increased number of graduates and other extension staff undertake
post-graduate/workplace training.
Career pathways within the extension sector retain skilled and
experienced personnel.
Capacity building in the R&D sector
The grains industry has a clear understanding of its skills requirements in
the short, medium and long term.
The grains industry, in collaboration with RD&E providers, regularly
publishes reviews of its anticipated future requirements for skilled
personnel, including any gaps in discipline areas, and provides these
to training organisations.
The industry and its RD&E providers are maintaining or increasing
the skills and capacity available, in line with the Grains Industry
National RD&E Strategy.
Training providers address the grains industry RD&E skills gaps in
innovative and exible ways.
RD&E providers work with the grains industry to develop improved
measures of RD&E performance.
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 benets.
Increased number of growers regularly use the support of a skilled
adviser to assist with cropping decisions.
An increased proportion of growers and advisers are undertaking
further education, training and skills development to enable them to
make better use of RD&E outputs.
Growers and their advisers participate in relevant training and skills
development and apply the knowledge gained to on-farm decisions
and practices.
At least 65% of growers and advisers undertake at least one activity
each year to learn more about opportunities to improve farm prot
or sustainability.
Growers apply skills on farm to increase protability and sustainability.
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Building skills and capacity in the year ahead.
Australian Rural Leadership Program
The Australian grains industry is adept at meeting the
challenges it faces through constant innovation. To
maintain and build this strength, the industry requires
people who are able and willing to take on diverse
leadership roles. To support the development of
informed, capable and ethical grains industry leaders,
the GRDC has been proud to sponsor the Australian
Rural Leadership Program since 1995.
In 201314, the GRDC will sponsor two grains industry
professionals who will embark on the twentieth course
offered by the program. Their participation will bring
the total number of GRDC-supported industry leaders
to 32. This important investment in future grains
industry capacity will ensure that we have rural leaders
who are able to work collaboratively to advance the
interests of their industry and their communities.
Other benets for the grains industry include:
identifying, nurturing and engaging potential rural
industry and community leaders
promoting an ethical leadership base for the grains
industry and rural communities
encouraging greater participation in the industry
by young farmers, advisers and professionals
building connections with a diverse network
of leaders.
Qualication in sustainable grains production
Australian grain growers increasingly rely on
agronomists to provide high-quality, relevant
advice and information to assist them with their
farm business decision making. The number of
experienced agronomists available to provide this
advice is declining, due to retirements, losses to other
industries and low levels of enrolment in agriculture-
related tertiary studies. Up-skilling people already
engaged in Australian grains production is one way
to address this issue.
In 201314, the GRDC will continue to fund a
course of study at the University of New England,
in New South Wales, which equips students with
the knowledge and skills required to fast-track
their careers in the grains industry or advance their
farm businesses.
A key investment in building the skills and capacity
of the extension sector, this course of tertiary study
is unique in that its sole focus is the sustainable
production of grains in Australia. By focusing on
specic, relevant and practical discipline areas and
using exible delivery methods, it will encourage
an increased number of grain growers, graduates
and agronomists to engage in tertiary studies.
By increasing the grains sectors access to, and
interest in, tertiary education, it will contribute to the
sectors sustainability and productivity into the future.
Other benets for the grains industry include:
increasing the dissemination, awareness and
application of grains research outputs, and
strengthening the research focus on strategic
issues that are specic to the industry
promoting the industry as one that offers diverse
study and career opportunities
communicating the benets of sustainable grain
production to the wider community
improving connections between industry
professionals
boosting the knowledge and condence of
growers, advisers and extension professionals.
Cross-theme investments
Some of the GRDCs investments contribute to
achieving the targets and outcomes of several, or all,
of the RD&E investment themes. These cross-theme
investments fall into two categories:
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 stakeholder surveys
providing support for consultative bodies
and managing the GRDCs directorships and
memberships of grains industry organisations
conducting communication campaigns
managing customer relationships and
communication channels, including the GRDCs
publications, periodicals, promotional materials
and online content
R&D management, which encompasses the
GRDCs commercial activities.
In 201314, Foundational activities has a budget of
$12.7 million, while R&D management has a budget
of $0.7 million.
The launch of Ground Cover Radio is one example of
a cross-theme investment highlight in 201314.
Delivering relevant, timely information to ensure that
growers have access to the latest techniques and
technology is critical to the GRDCs objective of
achieving on-farm practice change, across all six
investment themes. Developed in response to grain
growers requests for an audio service that they
can listen to while travelling or operating machinery,
Ground Cover Radio is a new communication channel
that will improve information delivery and inform the
development of other new information products.
Ground Cover Radio will include:
a mix of commentary, short interviews and
longer feature interviews based on articles
and supplements from the GRDCs Ground
Cover newspaper
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a weekly round-up of research activities from
around the regions, as well as a diary segment
giving details of upcoming GRDC events,
workshops and updates in each region.
Ground Cover Radio will be exible and customisable,
to cater for the preferences of individual listeners,
and to maximise local relevancy in keeping with the
GRDCs interest in delivering regionally and connecting
locally. Through the GRDC website, listeners will be
able to select individual tracks or a grouped podcast
of stories for the week or month, or bundle a suite of
audio les according to their region or topic. The ability
to monitor trends in listeners download choices will
assist the GRDC to identify issues of particular interest
and customise new content to meet the information
needs of growers and their advisers.
Enabling functions
The GRDCs Corporate Services business group
works with Corporate Communication and the
three operational business groups to implement the
GRDCs corporate strategies and achieve the planned
outcomes of the GRDCs investment themes.
Corporate Services is responsible for key enabling
activities that provide essential support for all the
corporations responsibilities under the Primary
Industries and Energy Research and Development
Act 1989 and the Commonwealth Authorities and
Companies Act 1997.
Figure 5 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 12 provides details of the GRDCs objectives and
plans for each of its enabling functions in 201314.
Figure 5: GRDC value chain
Grain
grower levies
and Australian
Government
funding
Evaluate the
impact and
report to
stakeholders
Design,
procure and
contract
required
RD&E
Manage the
RD&E portfolio
through
pathways to
market
Deliver
outcomes of
R&D in products
and services
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Key enabling activities
Core
business
processes
Identify and
prioritise RD&E
requirements
Corporate
governance
Legal
services
Risk
management
Quality
management
Human
resources
management
Finance
and
administration
Information
management
systems
Business
processes and
procurement
Planning
and reporting
Corporate
strategy
Corporate
communication
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Table 12: Objectives and plans for enabling functions in 201314
Objective Plans
Corporate strategy
Support the implementation of the
Strategic R&D Plan 201217.
Ensure that employees understand the GRDCs strategic direction.
Review the progress of the implementation of the ve-year plan.
Monitor the business environment.
Ensure that customer segments (including the general public, where appropriate) are aware of the goals,
strategies and achievements of the corporation.
Continue to monitor the portfolio balance and improve the efciency and effectiveness of selecting and
managing projects.
Planning and reporting
Inform stakeholders of the
corporations goals, strategies and
achievements.
Ensure the timely publication of the:
ve-year strategic R&D plan
annual operational plan
portfolio budget statements
annual report
growers report
stakeholder report.
Business processes and procurement
Conduct effective and efcient
procurement and project
management processes.
Ensure business processes create greater efciencies.
Manage the process for investment planning.
Provide processes that meet the requirements of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.
Maintain and continuously improve the procurement processes.
Implement a process to ensure that the appropriate level of staff knowledge of procurement is embedded and
staff awareness of procurement processes is continuously enhanced.
Information management systems
Support R&D information access
needs and records management
as well as the business computing
and telecommunication
requirements of the organisation.
Update the information systems environment to comply with the Australian Government Protective Security
Policy Framework.
Ensure information technology is aligned with all GRDC business processes.
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.
Facilitate the procurement of information technology and telecommunications equipment for information and
communications management.
Maintain and continuously improve the project management system and the records management system,
in accordance with GRDC business processes.
Ensure that the GRDCs website and intranet are successfully maintained and developed as effective tools for
communication and the education of staff and stakeholders.
Corporate communication
Inform all customers/stakeholders
of the corporations goals,
strategies and achievements.
Develop integrated communication campaigns (involving all business units) to deliver specic and timely
information to external stakeholders.
Through media monitoring, measure the GRDCs 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.
Finance and administration
Manage the accounting and
treasury functions in accordance
with statutory obligations and
requirements and the direction of
the GRDC Board.
Maintain a monitoring system through the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee and the internal audit program.
Develop, update and implement treasury management systems that enable the corporation to meet the
funding requirements of the annual operational plan.
Develop and maintain the budget and reporting framework to foster nancial responsibility at the business
unit level.
Improve and upgrade reporting systems and templates to encapsulate best practice.
Human resource management
Maintain best practice in human
resource management and remain
clearly focused on delivering
business objectives.
Recruit staff successfully for all new roles in the organisation.
Ensure that staff understand their roles and accountabilities.
Negotiate the renewal of the GRDC enterprise agreement to comply with the Fair Work Act 2009, using
good faith bargaining to achieve a balanced agreement and preserve the GRDCs organisational culture.
Ensure that GRDC positions are correctly graded to achieve internal equity and external competitiveness.
Conduct quarterly human resource and work health and safety reporting.
Map training needs for all staff.
Review the rewards and performance system.
Implement succession planning processes, considering the GRDCs plans for the future and identied
leadership competencies.
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Objective Plans
Quality management
Be recognised as a quality-
driven organisation, through
quality leadership, continuous
improvement and appropriate
accreditation.
Maintain ISO 9001:2008 accreditation.
Demonstrate clear leadership on quality and the benets to be derived from continuous improvement.
Instigate business improvement measures for all areas of quality improvement, including customer complaints
and process failures.
Evaluate and implement the alignment of policies and procedures with the quality system.
Promote quality assurance to ensure that it is effectively used for continuous improvement.
Create an effective feedback loop from staff and customers to the GRDC to measure effectiveness and
improve performance.
Risk management
Ensure that strategic, business,
fraud, work health and safety,
and security risks are identied,
assessed and appropriately
managed.
Maintain an effective risk management system.
Manage risks at the project, business unit and strategic levels of the corporation.
Monitor and update the risk management assessment report and the fraud control plan, to reect changes in
the operating environment.
Implement a process to ensure that the level of staff knowledge of risk management is enhanced and risk
management is embedded in the corporations culture.
Maintain a structured risk management rating from Comcover.
Ensure that internal audit recommendations are included in business risk and fraud control plans 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 GRDCs legal interests. Provide legal support to the organisation that is timely and of high quality and builds relationships with
stakeholders.
Provide high-quality secretarial support to the Chair, the Board and the Senior Leadership Group.
Provide legal seminars and fact sheets on contractual agreements, freedom of information, privacy and other
legal topics, for all staff.
Corporate governance
Maintain a robust system of
governance.
Ensure compliance with requirements under the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development
Act 1989, the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 and ministerial directions.
Ensure that planning and reporting documents (the annual report, annual operational plan and portfolio budget
statements) meet statutory requirements and are published and submitted on time.
Manage compliance through appropriate control systems and an ethical business culture.
Table 12: Objectives and plans for enabling functions in 201314 continued
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Work plan
Each year, the GRDC establishes a work plan to guide
staff on the objectives that the corporation expects
to achieve. The work plan is initiated by the Senior
Leadership Group, discussed with staff and nalised
with input from the GRDC Board. The Board assesses
the overall performance of the GRDC based on the
criteria established in the work plan.
Table 13 provides details of the objectives and
performance indicators of the GRDCs Work Plan
201314.
Table 13: Work plan objectives and key performance indicators, 201314
Key objective Actions Key performance indicators
An RD&E portfolio that
delivers maximum value to
Australian grain growers.
Implement themes.
Undertake impact assessments.
Monitor practice change.
Manage intellectual property (IP) for optimal
stakeholder benet.
Actively manage the GRDCs asset position and
exercise appropriate nancial controls.
Detailed investment strategies are in place within each
theme by December 2013.
Monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement
plans are in place for non-tactical investment strategies
by December 2013.
Four practice change campaigns aligned with
investment strategies are completed.
A new IP management and valuation strategy is
completed and is accepted by the GRDC Board by
June 2014.
Operating expenses are within budget and a clean
audit result is achieved.
Understanding of grain
growers perceptions of
GRDC.
Monitor grower perceptions. Surveys of growers are conducted.
GRDC regional panels for 201315 are appointed.
A strong positive working
relationship with the
Australian Government.
Liaise regularly with the Ministers ofce.
Liaise regularly with the Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
Contribute to initiatives of the Council of Rural
Research and Development Corporations.
The GRDC Board corresponds with the Minister after
each board meeting.
DAFF representatives are regularly invited to meet with
the GRDC Board.
The GRDC contributes to the councils PIERD Act
Working Group, Statutory Funding Working Group,
Business Managers Forum and Impact Assessment
Program.
A strong positive working
relationship with research
partners.
Understand research partners perceptions of
GRDC systems.
Operate in alignment with the investment
framework established in the Grains Industry
National RD&E Strategy.
Respond to feedback from research partners
about the GRDCs applying and reporting
processes.
Surveys of research partners are conducted.
There is evidence of effective coordination of RD&E
activities on a national and regional basis.
New forms for the GRDCs project specications,
progress reports and nal reports, which address
concerns raised by partners, are implemented by
June 2014.
Effective delivery to generate
benets for grain growers.
Deliver the GRDCs extension strategy. A new extension strategy to enhance practice change,
including a strategy enhancing electronic information
delivery, is developed and accepted.
Grower and adviser attendance at GRDC events is
monitored.
Commercialisation. Partner effectively to bring Australian technology
to market and/or overseas technology to
Look for opportunities to commercialise existing
IP or develop IP for the benet of industry.
There is evidence of formal contractual relationships to
bring technology to market.
The research portfolio is analysed to identify and
prioritise IP for commercialisation.
Global reach. Increase access to overseas knowledge
and technology that has potential to benet
There is an increase in the number of and/or
effectiveness of the GRDCs international partnerships.
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5 Estimated
income and
expenditure
Income
The GRDCs total income in 201314 is forecast to be
$178.6 million.
Figure 6 shows the sources of the GRDCs forecast
total income for 201314 in percentage terms.
Figure 6: Forecast total income
In dollar terms:
Australian Government contributions are expected
to be $64.3 million
levy contributions from grain growers are expected
to be $99.8 million
income from grants is estimated to be $0.7 million
other income, which includes interest on
investments and royalties, is expected to be
$13.8 million.
Expenditure
The GRDC Board has approved an annual operating
expenditure of $190.2 million and capital/equity
investment of $10.7 million in 201314. Operating
expenditure reects an increase of approximately
5.2 percent in comparison to the 201213
expenditure budget.
The GRDC is estimating an operating loss in 201314.
This loss will be funded by the GRDCs accumulated
nancial reserves.
Table 14 summarises the GRDCs estimates of
expenditure for 201314. Of the total forecast RD&E
expenditure, new investments for 201314 amount
to $48.4 million, while ongoing commitments amount
to $123.9 million (operating) and $10.7 million
(equity investment).
These gures are indicative only. Changes in the
GRDCs operating environment may require the
corporation to vary the total expenditure or specic
allocations to secure its nancial objectives.
Figure 7 shows the break-up of the proposed
expenditure in percentage terms. Costs of employees
and suppliers account for 9.4 percent of the forecast
expenditure in 201314.
Figure 7: Forecast expenditure
Grain grower
levy 55.9%
Interest, royalty
& other 7.7%
Grants 0.4%
Australian
Government
36.0%
Continuing
commitments
57.5%
Suppliers 4.6%
Employees 4.8%
Strategic
investment 7.6%
New research
investment
25.4%
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Table 14: Estimates of expenditure
RD&E investments
201213
$m
201314
$m
201314
%
R&D budget allocation
1 Meeting market requirements 12.7 16.7 8.8
2 Improving crop yield 40.0 40.0 21.0
3 Protecting your crop 29.0 36.3 19.1
4 Advancing protable farming systems 24.7 33.8 17.8
5 Improving your farm resource base 10.0 9.8 5.2
6 Building skills and capacity 8.0 7.8 4.1
Foundational activities 10.8 12.7 6.7
R&D management 0.7 0.7 0.4
Strategic investment
a
28.8 14.5 7.6
Management
Employees
b
8.3 9.2 4.8
Suppliers
c
7.9 8.7 4.6
Total 180.9 190.2 100.0
Capital budget allocation 1.4 10.7 100.0
a Strategic investment includes the implementation of the Grains Industry National RD&E Strategy, emerging issues, contingency planning, project variation, impact assessment,
project reviews, share amortisation, monitoring and evaluation.
b Employee costs include remuneration of directors and committee members.
c Supplier costs include depreciation, amortisation and levy collection/management expenditure.
Reserves
The GRDCs revenue depends on grain production
levels, prices and growers marketing intentions, all
of which can be highly variable. To reduce the impact
of uctuations in these variables on the industrys
annual RD&E effort, and safeguard its ongoing RD&E
investment, the GRDC manages liquid nancial
reserves. The reserves are accumulated in years of
high-value production and drawn on in years when
revenue is lower.
The GRDC aims to maintain the reserves at a
level between 40 percent and 70 percent of the
following years 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 201314.
Therefore, the GRDC is budgeting for an operating
decit of $11.1 million for 201314, to be funded from
the reserves. The operating loss for 201314 was
approved in April 2012 by the Minister for Finance
and Deregulation.
Payments to Grain
Producers Australia
GPA is the GRDCs representative organisation under
the Primary Industries and Energy Research and
Development Act 1989.
The GRDC has budgeted to pay GPA up to $175,000
in 201314, to:
meet GPAs costs in preparing for and attending
consultative meetings with the GRDC to assess
the GRDCs performance against the industrys
expectations
provide GPA with funding for agreed projects and
support GPAs participation in key conferences
relevant to the GRDCs functions.
Expenditure to meet
Australian Government
research priorities
Table 15 summarises the expected total expenditure
allocated against each of the Australian Governments
National Research Priorities and their associated goals
for 201314, while Table 16 summarises the expected
total expenditure allocated against each of the
Australian Governments Rural R&D Priorities for
201314. 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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5
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1
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4
A
d
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T
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6
B
u
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s
k
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&
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o
i
n
t

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&
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c
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c
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e
m
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i
s
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,

i
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v
a
t
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n

i
n
v
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s
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m
e
n
t
s
,

p
r
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a
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h
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w
r
i
t
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-
d
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w
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s
.
5

E
s
t
i
m
a
t
e
d

i
n
c
o
m
e

a
n
d

e
x
p
e
n
d
i
t
u
r
e
41
P
h
o
t
o
:

E
v
a
n

C
o
l
l
i
s
G
R
D
C

A
n
n
u
a
l

O
p
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
a
l

P
l
a
n

2
0
1
3
1
4
42
Abbreviations
list
AWBMMP Australian Wheat and Barley Molecular Marker Program
GPA Grain Producers Australia
Grains Industry National Grains Industry National Research, Development and Extension Strategy, April 2011
RD&E Strategy
GRDC Grains Research and Development Corporation
R&D research and development
RD&E research, development and extension
RLEM red-legged earth mite
WLYP water-limited yield potential
Key contacts
Keith Perrett
Chair
02 6166 4500
John Harvey
Managing Director
02 6166 4500
James Clark
Northern Regional
Panel Chair
0427 545 212
colane@bigpond.com
Keith Pengilley
Southern Regional
Panel chair
0448 015 539
kgpengilley@bigpond.com
Peter Roberts
Western Regional
Panel Chair
0428 389 060
peterroberts@esat.net.au
Sharon OKeeffe
Manager Grower Services
North
0409 279 328
sharon.okeeffe@grdc.com.au
Andrew Rice
South
0427 965 469
andrew.rice@grdc.com.au
Darren Hughes
West
0409 249 420
darren.hughes@grdc.com.au
Steve Thomas
Executive Manager
Research Programs
02 6166 4500
steve.thomas@grdc.com.au
Vince Logan
Executive Manager
Commercial
02 6166 4500
vince.logan@grdc.com.au
Stuart Kearns
Executive Manager
Regional Grower Services
02 6166 4500
stuart.kearns@grdc.com.au
Leecia Angus
Executive Manager
Corporate Services
02 6166 4500
leecia.angus@grdc.com.au
Vanessa Goss
Executive Manger
Transition Projects
02 6166 4500
vanessa.goss@grdc.com.au

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