Podcasts

On this edition of the podcast, we’re looking at how farmers can now actively become citizen scientists by improving weed recognition for machine learning.
University of Sydney Precision Weed Control PhD student, Guy Coleman earlier this year, along with Dr Michael Walsh hosted a workshop on weed recognition and machine learning in Wagga Wagga.
Guy walks us through the key learnings presented at this workshop and also reveals details about a new open source weed locator his team is releasing.
University of Sydney Precision Weed Control PhD student, Guy Coleman, with ‘Oscar’ the robot.
We’ll also be hearing from West Wimmera Farmer, Sam  Eastwood, who is particularly keen on managing weeds in non-cropped and unproductive areas of the farm.
He shares with us he how he keeps on top of them and why it’s a priority for him.
Links mentioned in the podcast
The Machine Learning for Weed Recognition Workshop Guy spoke about in the podcast is available to watch online. Follow the links below.

Day 1 of the workshop.
Day 2 of the workshop.
You can check out the Weed AI Sydney website here.
You can follow Guy Coleman on Twitter here.
WeedSmart website – new content! 
Make sure you check out our article explainer on what to expect for WeedSmart Week in Esperance. We’ve now released the program for you to view as well.  Check it out here.
We’ve also got a new article which is looking at what the benefit is of a double paraquat knockdown. James Jess who is a research and technical services manager at Western AG in Ballarat provides the answers. Take a read here.
Webinar Recording
For those of you who couldn’t attend our webinar on ryegrass management in the High Rainfall Zone, the recording is now available on our website, and I’ll provide the link in the show notes.
Dr Chris Preston and Southern Farming Systems’ James Manson provided information, with our HRZ Extension Agronomist as host.
Watch the recording in full here.
WeedSmart Week
Just a reminder that tickets are now able to be purchased for Esperance WeedSmart Week. The early bird price of $190 ends on July 31 and then goes up to $250 after this, so if you’re planning on going, get your tickets sooner rather than later for a discount!
You can get your tickets here.
Twitter and Facebook
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
You can also sign-up for our monthly blog, the WeedSmart Whip Around. All of our content from the last month is featured, so it’s easy to get to all the latest news.

WeedSmart Week
Just a reminder that tickets are now able to be purchased for Esperance WeedSmart Week. It’s the first time in 5 years the event will be back in WA. It’s happening from the 17th to the 19th of August 2021. WeedSmart Week is designed to engage growers and advisors on WeedSmart’s Big 6 messages. You can get your tickets here.

 
New content
Our next Regional Update will come out next Monday and we’ll be heading to the Northern Region. Make sure you’re subscribed on your podcast app of choice so you don’t miss it! You can find us by searching “WeedSmart Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox and any other podcast platform.
Make sure you check out our latest Ask an Expert. This month Dr Chris Preston answers the question How does ryegrass adapt so readily to farming practices and environmental changes?
We’ve also got a new Case Study for June on Elton and Pam Petersen from Moonie in Queensland.
A SwarmFarm robot, ‘Oscar’, has added another dimension to their integrated weed management program, which features the majority of the WeedSmart Big 6 tactics.
In two summer fallows the Petersens have regained control of glyphosate resistant feathertop Rhodes grass and awnless barnyard grass that was threatening their 2000 ha dryland cropping operation.
Webinar
Join us to and hear how the WeedSmart’s Big 6 strategies are best utilised to combat annual ryegrass in the High Rainfall Zones of South Eastern Australia. Presented by University of Adelaide’s Chris Preston, followed by a Q&A with James Manson from Southern Farming Systems. Register here.
WeedSmart Week
Just a reminder that tickets are now able to be purchased for Esperance WeedSmart Week. It’s the first time in 5 years the event will be back in WA. It’s happening from the 17th to the 19th of August 2021. WeedSmart Week is designed to engage growers and advisors on WeedSmart’s Big 6 messages. You can get your tickets here.
 
 
 

In this edition of the Regional Update we’re heading to the Western Region and catching up with farmer, Adrian Perks. Adrian is based in Condingup in WA, which is 70 kilometres north east of Esperance.We’ll be visiting Adrian’s farm as part of Esperance WeedSmart Week, so we’ll find out more about that and get a weed focused update for his region.
WeedSmart Week
WeedSmart Week Esperance is 17-19 of August. To find out more about this event and to buy tickets, click here.

We feature farmer case studies from each of our mill partners, including HSD, Redekop and Seed Terminator.
The farmers we hear from are Steve Lord (Goomalling, WA – Redekop); Tyson Schutz, who is pictured above with Dad Mick (Grass Patch, WA – Seed Terminator); and Jon Beasley (Franklin River, WA – HSD).

Farmer, Steve Lord, who has a Redekop mill.

We also be hearing from Kondinin Group’s Ben White who provides us with a technical overview and details the latest updates on this technology.
WeedSmart Week
This year, our annual flagship event will be held in Esperance, WA from the 17th to the 19th of August 2021. WeedSmart Week is designed to engage growers and advisors on WeedSmart’s Big 6 messages. You can get your tickets here.
New content
Make sure you check out our latest Ask an Expert. This month Dr Chris Preston answers the question “How does ryegrass adapt so readily to farming practices and environmental changes?”
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook and also sign-up for our monthly blog. You can also subscribe to the WeedSmart Whip Around, so you never miss any of our content.
Related content
We mentioned on the podcast that Tyson Schutz’s Dad, Mick Schutz, featured in a GRDC publication entitled “Investigating the harvest weed seed control tools chaff lining and chafftramlining (chaffdeck) in the Esperance area”. Check that out here.

In this edition of the Regional Update, we’re heading to the Southern Region and catching up with Nutrien Agronomist, James Challis. James is based in Echuca in Victoria.

WeedSmart Southern Extension Agronomist, Chris Davey has great practical tips on Group Gs today.
AHRI’s Dr Mike Ashworth covers the GRDC invested research he’s been leading in the Agronomy space, with some practical information on post-emergent UAN placement recommendations.
And finally, the problem of fence line weeds isn’t going away, so in the spirit of the WeedSmart Big 6, our Northern Extension Agronomist Paul McIntosh has a novel solution to plant lucerne to compete with weeds in non-cropped areas.
Related webinars
Mark Congreve Webinar on Group Gs
Chris Preston Webinar on Group Gs
New content
Our next Regional Update will come out next Monday and we’ll be hearing Nutrien Agronomist James Challis from the Southern Region.
If you haven’t listened to our latest update yet, we caught up with Tim Bartimote from NSW Local Land Services who talked about a GRDC invested projected on chaff decks.
Ask an Expert
This month Mark Congreve joins us to answer the questions “What impact does dry seeding have on pre-emergent herbicide efficacy?” Check it out here.
WeedSmart Review
In this edition we look at research from scientists from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia. They’ve recently published the results from long-term studies measuring the impact of ameliorating soil acidity on the growth of annual ryegrass in wheat.
The key finding was that applying and incorporating lime is the best way to increase the pH of acidic soils, but it usually takes several years before a surface lime application has a measurable effect on soil pH at depth.
Incorporation is the best way to speed up the process and also releases other soil nutrients to boost crop growth. I’ll link this article in the podcast notes!
Check it out here.

Over the last two years, Tim has been working on a chaff decking paddock demonstration project which has GRDC investment.
Tim provides us with an overview of what this project is all about and gives us a regional update for his region.
Resources
Video on chaff deck project 
GRDC IWM handbook
Weed management options during harvest article

WeedSmart Southern Extension Agronomist, Greg Condon, who is a big advocate of chaff decks, joins us to give us some answers!
We also hear from Northern Region grower, Chris Berry. He has had a chaff deck for a number of years and while he likes the concept of the mill, is sticking with the chaff deck for now.
Effects on paddock from using a chaff deck. Photos supplied by podcast guest, Chris Berry.
Regional Update
Our next Regional Update will come out next Monday and we’ll be hearing from Norther Region expert, Tim Bartimote. Tim is a Senior Land Services Officer in the Cropping division for NSW Central West Local Land Services.
Over the last two years, Tim has been working on a chaff decking paddock demonstration project which has GRDC investment.
New Content
We’ve got great content on the WeedSmart website for you to check!
Make sure you check out our latest Ask an Expert. It looks at how you can maximise grass weed control using hybrid canola. EPAG Research agronomist, Andrew Ware provides the answers. Read it here.
Also, don’t miss our latest Case Study on the Single family, based in Coonamble, NSW.
We also hosted a webinar last week with WeedSmart Southern Extension Agronomist Chris Davey & ICAN’s Mark Congreve. They looked at considerations for pre-emergent herbicides with dry sowing.
You can watch it here.