GCTV 19: GRDC has been driving Grains R&D forward for 25 years. John Harvey looks back.

John Harvey, it's good to have you on ground cover TV again.

Great to be back again. Thanks.

John, it's GIDC's 25th year and you've been with the organisation for 18 years. What do you see as the most significant change in farming systems over the last quarter of a century?

It's really quite phenomenal when you think back 25 years ago. We didn't have no tool, we didn't have controlled traffic, we didn't have precision guidance systems, and some of the old herbicides we were using were pretty primitive. So we've come a long way, in fact, to put it in perspective, in the last 17 years, we have doubled the water use efficiency, that is the kilograms of grain grown per millimeter of rainwater. That sort of gives you some sort of indication of how farming practices have changed and we've needed to do it because as all farmers know, the terms of trade keep getting tighter and the only way really to stay ahead of the curve is to keep improving productivity and keep improving profitability. And that's what R and D is doing.

What's that meant for the organisation's investment strategies?

We keep looking at our strategy every single year and in the last 12 to 18 months we've done a major review of how we invest in getting that portfolio balance right. And we look at our portfolio in terms of short term projects that are going to give quick return to growers in the season, medium term projects which will be more complicated farming systems, crop protection. And then we've got obviously a part of our portfolio which is looking at those new technologies, those disruptive technologies that are going to give us that step change in performance in the longer term.

Along with those investment strategies, GRDC itself has undergone some change. You've now set up regional offices. Where do you see the vision for the next five years?

GRDC has grown from a $30 million business to over $200 million business. And as it's evolved, obviously we need to change. We need to evolve as well. And that's what we've done. We've got too big to be able to do the business well just from a central office. And it's really important that we get close to growers. We know what their issues are and we've certainly done that through our regional panels over the years. But I think with the opening of our regional offices, and we have four regional offices, that will actually put staff closer to growers too, and I think that's a good thing.

So your role, John, is coming to a close as managing Director, do you.

Have any advice for your successor in terms of grdc? Look, GRDC has got enormous potential and we've seen that over the last. We've seen it over the last 18 years. But it's got a long, long way to go. I can just give you one very simple example. We know when we look at water use efficiency and we look at the potential and the amount of water we're leaving in the ground, that there's at least another six and a half billion dollars that's left in the ground every single year. And I reckon we can get farming systems that are able to extract that water and turn that into grain, turn it into dollars.

And as you leave the GRDC helm, what would you like to say to growers in regard to where things have been and where things are going?

I think we're in a situation where the nation has very much been dependent on a mining boom and that's actually coming to the end from all signs. And people are looking for the next industry, the next sector that's going to help take the Australian economy forward. And I sit here and think, well, the agriculture grains extremely well positioned for people to actually get involved and make some money and develop, I guess, growth and jobs for Australia.

John Harvey, thanks for talking to groundcover tv.

Pleasure.