In addition to being run as a face-to-face Update, the Main Auditorium sessions at the 2026 Goondiwindi GRDC Grains Research Update will be live streamed for online viewing. Not all concurrent sessions will be run in the Main Auditorium, so not all sessions will be live streamed. The livestream has been broken down into individual Zoom webinars for people to select those they are interested in. Click on the registration button below the session(s) of interest to register for that session.

***Please note all times are AEST time (Brisbane)***

Day 1 - Tuesday 3 March 2026

Goondiwindi Session 1 – General plenary day 1

Date: Tuesday 3 March 2026

Time: 10:00am – 12:05pm AEST

Topics:

10:00 am - GRDC opening address. Sharon Starick (GRDC)

10:25 am - Reflections on 30 years of GRDC Grains Research Updates

10:30 am - Regional fungicide resistance and disease management update. Steven Simpfendorfer (NSW DPIRD)

11:10 am - Introducing GRDC’s Sustainability Initiatives - Join GRDC representatives as they introduce the next phase of GRDC’s Sustainability Initiative and Communication Program. Mark Callow (GRDC)

11:40 am - Regionally relevant nitrogen uptake and loss data - guidelines on when and how to apply N in northern systems to minimise losses and optimise use efficiency. Graeme Schwenke (NSW DPIRD) & David Lester (DPI Qld)

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Sorghum & canola

Date: Tuesday 3 March 2026

Time: 1:20pm – 3:05pm AEST

Topics:

1:20 pm - Canola and its fit in northern farming systems compared to wheat and fababeans. Andrew Erbacher (DPI Qld)

1:50 pm - Redesigning sorghum cropping systems in time and space. Joe Eyre (UQ)

2:20 pm - Sorghum - row spacing and agronomy to optimise yield in hyper yielding sorghum. Loretta Serafin (NSW DPIRD)

2:55 pm - Discussion

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Nitrogen

Date: Tuesday 3 March 2026

Time: 3:35pm – 5:20pm AEST

Topics:

3:35 pm - Fate of legume nitrogen and its availability over time. Hai Nguyen (PhD) (UQ))

4:00 pm - Movement of nitrogen in the soil profile with rainfall. Mike Bell & Yui Osanai (UQ)

4:40 pm - The state of nitrogen fixation across Queensland – Benchmarking data from over 50 paddocks. Jordan Davis (DAF Qld)

5:10 pm - Discussion

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Day 2 - Wednesday 4 March 2026

Farming systems

Date: Wednesday 4 March 2026

Time: 8:30am – 10:15am AEST

Topics:

8:30 am - Longer term impacts of farming systems on soil C, N and P. Lindsay Bell (CSIRO)

9:00 am - Resilience of farming systems in the face of changing costs and commodity prices. James Hagan (DPI Qld)

9:25 am - Does temperature limit lentil production in the Northern region? Lia Olmedo Pico (CSIRO)

9:40 am - Are lentils a viable crop option in northern farming systems? Maurie Street (GOA)

10:00 am - Lentil discussion - their fit & agronomy in the north. Maurie Street (GOA), Lia Olmedo Pico (CSIRO), Jon Thelander (Seednet)

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Soils

Date: Wednesday 4 March 2026

Time: 10:45am – 12:30pm AEST

Topics:

10:45 am - K nutrition - an analysis of knowledge and knowledge gaps on K - summary of known knowledge on K nutrition. Mike Bell (UQ)

11:15 am - Grower scale strip trials evaluating strategies for P & K nutrition - data from ~60 sites. Megan Hunter (DPI Qld)

11:45 am - SoilWaterNow: Soil water nowcasting for mapping plant available water (PAW) across paddocks for improved on-farm decision-making. Thomas Bishop (Uni of Sydney)

12:15 pm - Discussion

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Goondiwindi GRDC Grains Research Update – General plenary 2

Date: Wednesday 4 March 2026

Time: 1:30pm – 3:00pm AEST

Topics:

1:30 pm - Soil biology - what is and isn't achievable with soil biology for nutrition and carbon. Gupta Vadakattu (CSIRO)

1:55 pm - How can we have assurance about emerging biostimulant products? Jeff Kraak (Fertiliser Australia)

2:30 pm - Carbon, farming and common cents? Cassandra Schefe (AgriSci)

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