Australian grain growers operate within an increasingly complex operating environment, characterised by risk and evolving consumer and community demands. Price and market volatility, geopolitics and changing consumer preferences present both challenges and opportunities. How can growers find opportunities to diversify and be provided with greater choice of crops and markets to increase business resilience. This challenge seeks to reimagine what is possible within Australian farming systems, breaking away from established norms to design integrated, adaptive, and market-driven approaches. It’s about questioning what we grow, when we grow it, and for what use—unlocking new crop choices, novel production windows, and transformative uses for grain that deliver additional value, diverse revenue streams, and profitability at scale.” Can we rethink existing rotations, grow crops outside of traditional windows or areas, make intercropping, companion crops or perennials work? Could RD&E help to unlock new markets or uses for grain, utilising their ability to produce abundant starch, fatty acids and or protein to produce new products or be enhanced to become bio factories to produce therapeutic proteins, vaccines and other medical compounds?
Look at what the industry wants in the future as a matter of priority - e.g. crops for energy, additions to rotations, new crops/markets, improve grain nutritional quality, etc. (not necessarily mutually exclusive). Then provide long term sufficient investment as this sounds like market failure opportunities.
Greater understanding of transcription factor networks in developing grains, will enable tweaking of grain characteristics for end use.
This content is created by the open source Your Priorities citizen engagement platform designed by the non profit Citizens Foundation