"GAME changing" initiatives have been announced by Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) at this week's Grain Research Update, Perth, as the organisations continues to invest in the Australian grain industry.
Recapping the past few seasons, on Monday morning chairman John Woods said farmers should be "very proud" of where the grain industry sits, after another "cracking year" for Western Australian growers.
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This hasn't happened overnight and Mr Woods argued it was a result of continued research and development and investment into the industry by key players such as GRDC.
In the past couple of years, GRDC has committed to a range of different projects, including $20.4 million on its farming systems project with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, and a $11.9m nitrogen cycling and losses national investment.
Mr Woods said due to the scale of the agricultural sector, and the complexities of the market, it was essential that Australia continued to invest in the grains industry.
"Our peers are investing hard, but our peers are our competitors," Mr Woods said.
"A dollar spent here can mean tens of dollars down the track, and we need to make sure we can capture those opportunities."
GRDC has started its infrastructure drive, where is has committed $20m over the next three years to ensure the grains industry continues to be in a strong position for future generations.
"Given we are in a fortunate position - GRDC and growers' balance streets are very strong - let's use this opportunity to improve," Mr Woods said.
The corporation continues to focus on sustainability, which Mr Woods said wasn't just about carbon emissions.
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While GRDC considers sustainability in all of their projects, one of its main sustainability initiatives is working with the CSIRO (along with other organisations) to develop an accurate carbon calculator for farms - which has been diagnosed as a confusing problem for farmers.
"At the moment, if I go and Google, I can find more than a dozen carbon calculators for my farm," Mr Woods said.
"What we need to do as a whole sector is find a standard that can be used that is science based."
Mr Woods predicted this calculator would be available to use within the next 12 to 18 months, and said it would be a "game changer" for the industry.
While GRDC continues to invest rapidly in the sector, he admitted there would be some challenges for the organisation in the future, namely around capacity and capability of people and infrastructure.
GRDC has had some difficulties getting contracts due to the tight labour market, and are continuing to look for new parters and opportunities to invest in.
"At the end of the day, we are likely to see commodity pieces come off quicker than input prices," Mr Woods said.
"This will result in a cost price squeeze for growers, industry and GRDC - this is a challenge for GRDC and it's going to be a lot dearer to do business in the future."
