PULSE Field Day is set to take place next month and will celebrate some of the newest opportunities available in one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in Australia; pulse crops.
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The potential and profitability of the crops will be a prime focus at the Southern Pulse Agronomy Field Day being held at Nhill on Tuesday, 12 October.
Hosted by Frontier Farming Systems on behalf of Agriculture Victoria and the Grains Research Development Corporation (GRDC), farmers, agronomists and industry are invited to attend the day to hear how the latest lentil, chickpea, field pea, faba beans and vetch varieties have performed this year.
The Nhill trial site is one of many trial sites across Victoria, as well as similar projects in South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia.
Agriculture Victoria Research Scientist Dr Jason Brand said the event was part of the Southern Pulse Agronomy project geared at improving the profitability of pulse growers.
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"There's certainly been a drive around profitability," Dr Brand told the Mail-Times.
"That's one of the big reasons you've seen crops like lentils, and even beans to some extent, increase in demand - they've just proven to be very profitable options."
"Lentil pricing currently is sitting up around a thousand dollars a ton, which is on the upper end of the scale."
"Growing a bean or lentil crop means you make more money out of your wheat or barley crop the following year; there's a big profitability driver."
Field research being conducted at the site is comparing the performance of pulse varieties grown in variable soil types.
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Also being examined is the impact of different management strategies including stubble management, inoculation and row spacing.
Researchers, pulse breeders, industry specialists and grain marketers will be on hand at the event to discuss the research and its practical application, and to answer any questions from attendees.
Dr Brand said special attention was being paid to examining how to ensure pulse crops thrived in regions they haven't traditionally done so.
"In areas where it's been a bit more difficult to grow pulses in the past, with new varieties and improved agronomy we're continuing to see that opportunity for growers that have found them more challenging," he said.
"We're able to provide solutions for them... there's going to be several new varieties in lentils and peas that are going to be talked about on the day, which is quite exciting for the industry because there's a few new opportunities there."
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"Among the new varieties some higher yielding lentils and lentils with some new traits in them that give growers opportunities to better manage weeds,"
"The key thing growers are going to get out of this field day is access to the latest, locally-validated research that will help them maximise every dollar earned through their pulse crops.
"This is real, in-the-field, practical research that will directly benefit local growers."
Dr Brand said that one of the main drivers in the pulse boom are overseas markets.
"The major markets for lentils and chickpeas at the moment are human consumption markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
"But it's also exciting to see some of the new developments in Australia around pulse protein products, such as Australian Plant Proteins in Horsham."
"It gives us another market outlet for those crops, while we've got this booming market in Southeast Asia, where the population doesn't stop growing. It's a win-win."
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