Minogue meets challenges for opportunity

I've been farming for 35 years, but my family's been in the area for five generations in the Barmedmond area. In that time we've seen a huge change to new technology and bigger machinery. The introduction of no tool, the ability for us to extract more moisture and also be more efficient with our inputs and also the matching of those inputs to the moisture that we have and the ability to store our moistures from the fallows and then turn that into grain. My skill set is that I'm vertically integrated across the ag sector. I'm a farmer in my own right, so I actually implement the research on my own farm. But also as an advisor and an agronomist, I have to. I'm where the rubber meets the road. So the reality is I have to get the research message and deliver that to a farmer in an easily understandable and easy to implement message so that he can undertake practice change on his farm. Currently, we've been able to maintain a 2% per annum increase in productivity through RD and E across the grain sector. Now the challenge for us will be to maintain that, but I believe that the only way we will be able to maintain it is through research, development and extension. The research of new and innovative products that will be delivered to growers and the development, extension of our existing technology to on farm to growers. The most important role for the Northern panel is to maintain their contact with growers, continue to receive feedback from growers as to what are their burning issues on their farm, bring them into GRDC and then ensure that the investment path that is taken is relevant to then deliver that change in practice back onto their own farms. Look, the grains industry is a very innovative and a moving and a very challenging industry to be in. I enjoy the challenge. I enjoy the contacts with the people you make who are passionate about the industry as an industry that doesn't suffer fools easily. So very quickly people will work out if you're not delivering to them. So it's a hard industry, it's a challenging industry, but it's an industry that will reward people who can generate income for their farms and also will reward people who have a good knowledge and understanding of their industry.