FARMERS will forge closer ties with the research community under specialist program.
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The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will play a role in the professional development of growers and advisers.
The partnership is titled Grower and Adviser Development Program (GAD).
The program provides support for individuals and groups of growers and advisers to visit GRDC-supported research and development projects, other relevant research projects, centres of excellence and farming systems groups, or support for an expert in a specific scientific field to visit a local community to share their knowledge and experience.
The aim of the program is to assist grain growers and advisers to gain new knowledge, develop new skills, build relationships and acquire new information to assist grain-producing businesses to be productive, profitable and sustainable.
GRDC regional grower services executive manager, Stuart Kearns, says the GAD program is specifically aimed at enhancing growers’ knowledge of relevant research activities and how these GRDC-funded projects are addressing the issues and constraints faced by growers within their farming systems. “One of GRDC’s top priorities is getting the latest research outcomes and recommended practices to growers so they can overcome challenges and improve their cropping programs.
“By meeting with relevant researchers first-hand they can gain new insights and understandings while at the same time developing closer ties to the research community which is working on behalf of growers’ best interests,” Mr Kearns said.
“What the GAD initiative does is give growers and advisers the opportunity to access research at its source and to then take that information back to their neighbours, towns and regions. “In the past, we’ve seen growers tackle issues by looking at research being conducted outside their own cropping regions, so it highlights how we can maximise the value of the GRDC’s national research portfolio by sharing its knowledge as widely as we can.”
Growers and advisers applying for the program can choose from the broad range of GRDC-funded research projects and research partners to tap into specific expertise and research activities.
Applicants should also aim to define not only how they will gather knowledge to tackle particular issues, but also how they will share that information to a wider audience. Applications for the next round of GAD study tours close on June 8, 2015.