GRDC’s Regional Cropping Solutions Network holds its last meeting in Perth before being rebranded

The Grains Research Development Corporation’s Regional Cropping Solutions Network has held its last meeting in Perth while celebrating more than a decade of providing from-the-ground up input for grains investments in WA.

Established in 2011, the Regional Cropping Solutions Network was established by GRDC as a “ground up” way to engage with farmers and other stakeholders to capture constraints and opportunities in the grains industry.

The aim was to make sure the projects developed by GRDC were addressing growers’ needs.

A total of 60 growers were involved in the group at any one time, with 12 representatives from each of the WA agriculture industry’s five original port zones — Kwinana east and west, Geraldton, Esperance and Albany.

Julianne Hill, Cameron Weeks and Sally Thompson were appointed the Regional Cropping Solutions Network coordinators in 2011, with Julianne leading this work from 2014.

Ms Hill said she believed the group had been pivotal in making sure the projects GRDC’s projects “addressed growers’ needs”.

“Each time an idea or issue was raised, we balanced it out by looking at the area impacted, the impact it had on profit, and whether it was a GRDC issue,” she said.

“There were a range of filters the RCSN-Grower Network members ran it through before deciding whether to further develop a GRDC project on it.

“Not only that, but they also raised areas of interest and investment that GRDC has taken.

“It has given a ground-up approach, rather than a top down approach... and levelled the field by having grassroots and research ideas coming together to filter down to GRDC.”

GRDC last year announced in 2020 it had rebranded the group to the National Grower Network.

The group as a similar purpose but aims to consult through open growers forums across WA, as a way to “capture constraints or opportunities” to growers’ profitability and “identify desired outcomes to shape and inform” GRDC investments.

The Grower Network holds three to four hour grower forums as well as industry forums — open to anyone — with both at times tacked on to GRDC events including its popular farm business updates and grains research updates.

Ms Hill said her 11 years with the RCSN had been a “fantastic journey” as she finished up with GRDC.

“There have been 160 different farmers and industry, or grain growers, have been part of the RSCN and the Grower Network it morphed into,” she said.

Some farmers have been involved for 10 years, and some for two years.

“An amazing number of people have gone through and really inspired me.”

The majority of the former RCSN members met for the last time in Perth last month. Each of the members had been asked to talk to five other farmers to highlight their top five to 10 ideas.

“Eight to 10 high priority areas were chosen to be further developed... and as well as this those attending heard from researchers who talked about some key investments GRDC put on the ground that originated from the Grower Network members,” Ms Hill said.

“The network was a bit of a breeding ground for good ideas and new GRDC board members.

“It has been a great way to engage with GRDC.”