Held in the historic buildings of Notre Dame University in Fremantle the returning 2006 Scholars and new 2007 Scholars met for briefing and debriefing sessions. While the new and returning Scholars shared their experiences and prepared for the year ahead their partners took time to visit some of the sights of Fremantle, including Kailis Pearls, the art centre and the many and varied cafes and shops in the precinct.

The current Scholars sessions were run concurrently with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) strategic management forum. This forum is a new initiative in the Nuffield program and is aimed at creating greater interaction between the GRDC and the Scholars it funds. Approximately 30 recent GRDC funded Scholars met for this forum and were treated to top class presentations from professionals in the agribusiness industry to discuss alternative finance options, business structures, marketing and farm business management. On Wednesday evening a casual and relaxing seafood dinner was enjoyed at Joe’s Fish Shack on the edge of Fishing Boat Harbour in Fremantle.

Tour Day 1 – Thursday 4 October

Thursday morning saw the big group gather to head off on a tour of the Perth surrounds. One bus load left Fremantle and travelled to the CBH Group’s Metro Grain Centre (MGC) which is 15 kilometres east of the Perth CBD. The $120 million MGC was built in 1998 and is one of the most innovative and advanced grain receival, storage and distribution complexes in the world. It is strategically located close to domestic markets and processors, with road and rail access to Fremantle Port for container export and bulk shipping via the CBH grain terminal at Kwinana.

The MGC, located in Forrestfield, is fully computerised and can store over 200,000 tonnes of grain. It has the ability to clean grain adding value to the product by preparing it for specialised markets.

The MGC site also houses the Australian Grains Centre, a centre of excellence for grain technology. The Centre provides the most advanced on-site grain testing facilities in Australia, delivering enhanced grain analysis, quality control and research into storage methods and grain varieties. After and informative presentation from David Fienburg, manager of the Australian Grains Centre, the group had a tour of the facility. John Doncon, manager of the Australian Lupin Processing Plant guided the tour. Other than the sheer scale and efficiency of the operations the key points of interest were the automated container loading facility and the lupin dehulling plant.

From the MGC the group walked next door to the ABB’s Joe White malting facility. This malting plant is connected to the MGC by conveyor belt and all the barley and malt is transported in and out of the centre via the conveyor. Anthony Fitzgerald of ABB and Mike Tempone, the master maltster gave a presentation and tour of the facility which produces approximately 200,000 tonnes of malt annually 95 per cent of which is destined for the Asian export market.

While the grain facility tour was being conducted another bus load of Nuffield Scholars and their partners visited Kings Park to view the amazing display of WA wild flowers that are in bloom at this time of the year.

The two buses met back together in the Swan Valley were the group gathered for lunch at Houghton’s winery. Houghton Wines has a romantic history and is one of Australia’s oldest continuous winemakers. Named after Lieutenant Colonel Richmond Houghton in 1836, the first commercial vintage was produced in 1859 totalling 25 gallons. The picturesque Houghton winery property has 50 hectares planted with premium grape varieties including Verdelho, Chardonnay, Semillon and Chenin Blanc.

Early documentation and current research suggests the first vines were planted between 1830 and 1836. Houghton also operates four of Western Australia’s largest vineyards at Moondah Brook, Pemberton, Mt Barker and Frankland River, and sources fruit from Margaret River, Harvey and other emerging premium areas. These diverse wine regions provide the necessary fruit requirements vital for the production of premium table wines, which are distinctly Western Australian.

Over lunch the group heard an array of interesting presentations which all focused on the opportunities and challenges of agricultural production in the region. Andrew McCrae of CSBP gave a detailed presentation on the trends in global agriculture and how these trends are affecting the current price and availability of fertiliser. Rob Kestel, a 2007 Scholar who operates a chicken meat production operation just north of Houghton’s spoke about environmental regulations and the strict health and welfare regulations that his industry has to adhere to.

Aaron Edmonds a 2002 Scholar then spoke about his company Australia Nuts. Australia Nuts was founded by Aaron in 2005 to promote and develop the production and marketing of sandalwood nuts in Australia. Aaron, who is from Calingiri, a wheat belt town northwest of Perth, studied ways to reduce the dependency of agriculture on fossil fuels while on his Nuffield scholarship. What he discovered led him to believe that the Australian sandalwood nut had a vital part to play in the future of Australian farming.

Prior to a session tasting the Houghton’s premium wine range, the group heard from Dianne Stewarts, the manager of Houghton’s WA, vineyards. Dianne spoke about the groups operations and emphasised some of the challenges the company faces, particularly in relation to sourcing and retaining quality staff and complying with environmental constraints.

The buses then headed back to Fremantle and the group met again that evening for the Nuffield forum over dinner at Maria’s on The Terrace.

The Nuffield Forum, which was initiated on the Autumn Tour, is a stand-up interview session. The forum was chaired by Brendon Smart and he spoke with four Scholars, Rob Henry 1990, Andrew Fowler 1999, Hugh Roberts 1976 and John Foss 2000, about what they have done since returning from their scholarship. It was a really interesting session and an older Scholar commented to me afterwards saying, “I continue to be amazed at the talent of the people in the Nuffield alumni. It is important to hold these types of sessions so Scholars can get a greater appreciation of the people within the group. As the number of Scholars increases these interactive forums have greater importance.”

Innovative Farming Australia Conference – Friday 5 October

The venue for Friday was the magnificent Maritime Museum on the bank of Fremantle harbour. The day started with a short and sharp AGM which was followed by a tour of the museum, the home to the famous America’s Cup winning yacht Australia Two. The Innovative Farming Australia Conference then began with an inspiring opening address from Imre Mencshelyi, Chief Executive Officer, CBH Group. His presentation focused on the global demand for grain for food and fuel. He also said that with 10 to 12 multinational organisations feeding 70 per cent of the population, a company such as CBH had to make decisions about how to best fit into the global food industry. The consolidation of farms in WA has also created a new environment with the number of farmers in WA reducing from 10,300 in 2000 to 5500 in 2007.

Following Imre were the presentations from the 2006 Scholars. Andrew Bouffler presented the outcomes of his study into dual purpose maternal ewe flocks, citing key findings from his research in South Africa. Helen Dalton then presented on her topic of ecological goods and services, environmental stewardship programs and the future opportunities from carbon credits. John Gladigau made a powerful presentation on the benefits of cooperative farming models and drew on the knowledge he gained from fruitful meetings with farmers in cooperative business structures in North America. Catherine Harvey gave a detailed presentation on biological farming systems which included images of several alternative soil health practices such as diesel exhaust fume injection. David Jochinke’s presentation was a humorous and articulate talk on the role of farmers in influencing government. His key messages were that reputations open doors and relationships are the key to success.

Damien Smart presented the findings from his diverse range of study topics which included sub surface drip irrigation systems and prescription livestock feeding systems. His point about doing your research thoroughly prior to embarking on a new venture was best summed up by his quote “if you want to cut the tree down fast spend twice as much time sharpening the axe”. Bruce Thompson gave a fascinating presentation on cropping rotations and unmanned machinery technology. The statistics he quoted in relationship to the significant shift of USA research resources from food crops to fuel crops and the flow on effects of the US mandate to supply 20 per cent of US oil consumption with fuel from renewable sources by 2015 gave a compelling argument for the positive future prospects for grain production in Australia. Ronald Thompson was the final presenter and gave a well researched presentation on the world wide issue of the diminishing work force in farming. After outlining the issues he spoke about some of the options for overcoming labour shortages and suggested that the rise of farm income as a result of a portion of revenue coming from the energy market could be one solution to reinvigorate Australia’s farming economy and repopulate regional areas.

Awards Dinner – Friday night at the Esplanade Hotel

A very large crowd of Nuffield Scholars, sponsor companies and leading farming and agribusiness identities in Western Australia attended the awards dinner on Friday night at the Esplanade Hotel. The highlights of the night were the presentation to the pre 1965 Scholars, the keynote address from Michael Chaney and the excellent acceptance speeches from the sixteen new Scholars. The event certainly helped to raise the profile of Nuffield within agribusiness circles in WA and the energy and enthusiasm projected from the new Scholars left the audience in no doubt that Nuffield will play an increasingly active role in the ongoing success of Australian agriculture.

Weekend Wheatbelt tour

On Saturday morning approximately 70 Scholars and partners headed east into the WA wheat belt to go to the famous Kulin Bush races. First stop was the Brookton roadhouse to get some greasy food to soak up any alcohol from the night before, and then the long journey to Kulin continued. Finally the group were greeted with the sight of this uniquely Australian bush race meeting nestled picturesquely between the granite outcrops and Lake Jilikan.

The Nuffield group were superbly catered for in the sponsors marquee courtesy of Ausplow sponsorship. Lack of local knowledge, inconsistent form and the unreliable tip to back a horse called ‘Panda’ meant the group left the track with empty pockets. The group left the races and headed further east to Terra Vista restaurant at Hyden just as locals in the tin shed bar started to get rowdy.

After an hour on the road and a stop for some wine some of the group were wondering if we had actually crossed the border in South Australia. But the trip was worth it and the dinner served at the isolated Italian restaurant was superb. The mood in the bus soured as we left the restaurant as the group learnt of the Wallabies getting kicked out of the World Cup, so by the time they all arrived at the Wave Rock resort (!!?) and had to play the game of ‘find a bed in the dark’ the party was over.

The next morning everyone woke to witness the stunning views of the salt lake that surrounded the resort. For those that missed the tour it is best to imagine an island in the Whitsundays. It was then on to a look at Wave Rock followed by a hearty breakfast at Jane and Vern Mouritz’s farm. The Mouritz family are pioneers of the Hyden region and are incredibly active in the development of the Hyden community. Their extensive farming operations include the award winning Hydillowah beef feedlot.

Then back to the airport and the flights home to the many points of the Australian map. Thanks to all of the participants on the trip who witnessed the heart of the WA wheat belt. The Kulin Bush Races committee and the Mouritz family have passed on their thanks and appreciation to the Nuffield Scholars group for making the long trip to the area to visit their farms and communities and share in their event.

Presentations from the 2007 Spring Tour

Andrew Bouffler presented the outcomes of his study into dual purpose maternal ewe flocks, citing key findings from his research in South Africa. Download presentation (587 K PDF)

Helen Dalton then presented on her topic of ecological goods and services, environmental stewardship programs and the future opportunities from carbon credits. Download presentation (973 K PDF)

John Gladigau made a powerful presentation on the benefits of cooperative farming models as and drew on the knowledge he gained from fruitful meetings with farmers in cooperative business structures in North America. Download presentation (1.4 MB PDF)

Catherine Harvey gave a detailed presentation on biological farming systems which included images of several alternative soil health practices such as diesel exhaust fume injection. Download presentation (800 K PDF)

David Jochinke’s presentation was a humorous and articulate talk on the roles of farmers in influencing government. His key messages were that reputations open doors and relationships are the key to success. Download presentation (305 K PDF)

Damien Smart presented the findings from his diverse range of study topics which included sub surface drip irrigation systems and prescription livestock feeding systems. His point about doing your research thoroughly prior to embarking on a new venture was best summed up by his quote “if you want to cut the tree down fast spend twice as much time sharpening the axe”. Download presentation (3.9 MB PDF)

Bruce Thompson gave a fascinating presentation on cropping rotations and unmanned machinery technology. The statistics he quoted in relationship to the significant shift of USA researchers resources from food crops to fuel crops and the flow on affects of the US mandate to supply 20% of US oil consumption with fuel from renewable sources by 2015 gave a compelling argument for the positive future prospects for grain production in Australia. Download presentation (4.7 MB PDF)

Ronald Thompson was the final presenter and gave a well researched presentation on the world wide issue of the diminishing work force in farming. After outlining the issues he spoke about some of the options for overcoming labour shortages and suggested that the rise of farm income as a result of a portion of revenue coming from the energy market could be one solution to reinvigorate Australia’s farming economy and repopulate regional areas. Download presentation (1.8 MB PDF)