News & Media

Growers from across the southern high rainfall zones have been recognised for their
determination to reach high productivity goals as part of the GRDC’s Hyper Yielding Crops Awards
initiative.

The following award winners were announced at regional Hyper Yielding Crops (HYC) results updates
where growers had the opportunity to discuss the first-year’s research outcomes according to their
respective regions. The following HYC awards were made based on wheat paddocks grown in the
2020 season:

SA
Highest yield 10.59 T/HA, James Fitzgerald, Hatherleigh
Highest % of Potential 10.59 T/HA (99.25% OF YIELD POTENTIAL 10.67 T/HA), James Fitzgerald, Hatherleigh

NSW
Highest yield 7.31 T/HA, Damien Schneider Culcairn
Highest % of Potential 6.71 T/HA (86.36% OF YIELD POTENTIAL 7.77 T/HA), Craig Marshall, Rennie

VIC (SOUTHERN)
Highest yield 10.40 T/HA, Ben Findlay, Weatherboard
Highest % of Potential 9.40 T/HA (96.41% OF YIELD POTENTIAL 9.75 T/HA), Will Langley, Winchelsea

VIC (NORTHERN)
Highest yield 7.58 T/HA, Jock Binnie, Bungeet
Highest % of Potential 7.58 T/HA (104.41% OF YIELD POTENTIAL 7.26 T/HA), Jock Binnie, Bungeet

TAS
Highest yield 11.00 T/HA, Simon Burgess, Conara
Highest % of Potential 10.80 T/HA (89.33% OF YIELD POTENTIAL 12.09 T/HA), James Clutterbuck, Hagley

WA
Highest yield 6.20 T/HA, Jon Beasley, Frankland River
Highest % of Potential 6.20 T/HA (70.29% OF YIELD POTENTIAL 8.82 T/HA), Jon Beasley, Frankland River

The Hyper Yielding Crops (HYC) Awards recognise growers who have the enthusiasm and clear vision
to accomplish high productivity goals, through making effective agronomic management decisions,
at the right time, according to their location and environment.

This awards initiative was developed as part of the Grains Research & Development Corporation’s
hyper yielding crops project, a four-year investment, spanning five states, which aims to push the
economically attainable yield boundaries of wheat, barley and canola.

HYC project officers in WA, SA, VIC, TAS and NSW sought nominations of 10 wheat paddocks per
region which in turn allowed growers to benchmark the agronomic performance of their crops
compared to a regional standard.

“The awards component of the project was formed to try and build a community of interest in
pushing our productivity boundaries, not just to share what went well, but also those things that
perhaps didn’t go so well, and utilise these learnings in a community setting,” said Nick Poole, FAR
Australia’s Managing Director and HYC project lead. ‘’Profitability and putting dollars into the
pockets of growers is key, but equally important is the ability to benchmark and learn within a
community about those agronomic levers which will assist in reaching our crop yield potentials.”

Jon Midwood of TechCrop is the national Extension Coordinator for HYC and oversees the HYC
Awards whilst working closely with FAR Australia in processing the data. He says the first year
delivered some excellent results for growers. “We were delighted with the interest in this initial year
of the initiative, and we hope to build on this participation over the remaining years of the project.

“All those who participated in the HYC Awards were presented with a report, which not only assists
with identifying the different agronomic decisions made throughout the season’s growing
conditions, but also provides growers with the ability to closely benchmark these key decisions with
other growers in their region.

“Nominations are now open for the 2021 season and we would urge growers to contact their
respective project officers for more information if they would like to enter a wheat crop this
season.”

GRDC Grower Relations Manager, Randall Wilksch, said the outcomes achieved by the 2021 HYC
Award winners in the southern high rainfall zones would encourage other growers not just in the
same region but further afield to push crop yield boundaries.

“The results this year have surpassed expectations. This national investment continues to support
growers who are keen to push yield to the next level in high yield potential grain-growing
environments,” Mr Wilksch said.

“The award winners have clearly demonstrated the kind of drive and vision that will hopefully
encourage others to consider adoption of different agronomic management tactics aimed at
delivering greater productivity and profitability.”

“Congratulations to our inaugural HYC Award winners,” said Mr Poole. “On behalf of the wider
project team, I would like to add my thanks to all the growers who entered the HYC awards in our
pilot season, you have certainly set the standard for the years to come.”

Details of upcoming HYC field days:
Friday 17th September, Frankland WA
Thursday 7th October, Wallendbeen, NSW
Thursday 14th October, Gnarwarre, VIC
Thursday 28th October, Millicent, SA
Thursday 18th November, Hagley, TAS

A full list of events can be viewed at https://faraustralia.com.au/event/

For further information on the Hyper Yielding Crops project, please visit
https://faraustralia.com.au/hyper-yielding-crops/

For a full set of provisional Hyper Yielding Crops 2020 trials results, please visit
https://faraustralia.com.au/resource/