This investment focuses on expanding and improving on-farm grain storage, improving maintenance scheduling for storage infrastructure, improving best management practices to protect stored grain from insects, fungi, and mice, enhance product pricing through segregation and cleaning, reduce harvest freight costs, and improve health and safety practices. To achieve these goals, various extension approaches will be employed, including participatory action learning workshops, economic calculators, industry-based case studies, communication materials like factsheets, podcasts, presentations, webinars, and videos. Additionally, grower access to the 1800 WEEVEL support line and collaboration with the 'National resistance monitoring and management of stored grain pests' investment are crucial to this project.

Outcome: By 30 November 2029, nine hundred and ten grain growers will have undertaken practise change in at least one area of: new on-farm grain storage infrastructure, best practise grain quality management for stored grain, improved value for on-farm stored grain or enhanced safety outcomes when operating in and around on-farm grain storage.

Outputs

Output 1.

Title: Identify opportunities to invest in on-farm grain storage.

Description: Bulk handlers continue to rationalise grain storage delivery points, and the domestic consumption of grain continues to increase for both human consumption and intensive livestock industries. To better capture opportunities for on-farm storage this investment will assist decision making for the instalment of grain storage structures on-farm that also integrate insect control measures.

By March 2025 and annually thereafter a revision and expansion of decision support tools that aid the estimation of payback periods and returns on investment (ROI) for on-farm grain storage installation. Tools should include but not be limited to:

 • Silo installations (flat and cone) with comparisons between drying and/or cooling systems, sealed and non-sealed systems. The calculator should have provision to assume lower on-going costs and lower soilage in sealed systems.

 • Bag based systems that include in and out loading equipment, pad structures and capability for fumigation.

 • Sheds that allow for dual or single use either with fertiliser or machinery storage.

 • Bunkers

Considerations need to provide likely income or savings (dollar ranges provided) and likely costs (capital and on-going with dollar ranges provided).

Surveys are to be undertaken to (i) facilitate improved estimations of on-farm grain storage capacity and its grower as well as (ii) provide a future needs analysis of grain grower grain storage requirements.

Opportunities to connect with Grain Automate need to be examined through Jacob.Humpal@grdc.com.au

Engagement with commercial engineers across all grains for grain storage is critical to this output.

Output 2.

Title; Identify the range of grain price improvement opportunities.

Description: Grain price improvement opportunities may be regularly implemented where September grain price variability compared to December pricing is high with the greatest variability is on the upside of the December price. Therefore, probability analysis is required to examine likely benefits of holding the physical product and selling later compared with a harvest selling time.

Blending, segregation and cleaning opportunities are not always present in every year or for all tonnages produced on-farm. Consequently, it’s important to highlight the specific circumstance that allow for this additional value capture.

By March 2025 and annually thereafter develop probability analysis of sale time impacts for the major grains and case studies that outline the circumstances (price and quality circumstances) under which segregation, blending or cleaning are profitable. Case studies should include but not be limited to:

• Probability profits-based estimates for sale timing of major grains nuanced for regional differences that occur across different GRDC subregions,

• Circumstances where segregation becomes financially viable,

• Settings where blending becomes profitable,

• Situations where grain cleaning becomes financially beneficial.

Opportunities to connect with Grain Automate need to be examined through Jacob.Humpal@grdc.com.au

Engagement with commercial engineers across all grains for grain storage is critical to this output.

Output 3.

Title: Improve the implementation of best practise management for stored grain pests and disease.

Description: This output will require a significant proportion of the proposed investment. It is designed to (i) reduce grain spoilage, (ii) ensure risks associated with access to grain exports are minimised, (iii) raise the standard of integrated pest and disease management for on-farm grain storage, and (iv) reduce the development rate of fumigant resistance.

By March 2025, and annually thereafter develop and deliver events (15 per GRDC region), podcasts, videos, printed materials, Groundcover articles and GRDC Update papers nationally to:

• improve the standards of on-farm insect and disease prevention and control measures for stored grains including but not limited to:

o hygiene, use of cooling and reduced humidity systems and the use of protectants and fumigants,

o develop material that allow users to consider registered use of chemicals, active constituent rotation, withholding periods and other considerations,

o develop training information to upskill growers in their application and use of protectants fumigants on-farm,

o maintains grower accessibility to expertise via the 1800-WEEVIL number (1800 933 845).

o The RiskWi$e network will be used to understand barriers to adoption to motivations and barriers care used to guide extension.

Surveys are to be undertaken to (i) improve our understand the levels of pest control implemented in on-farm grain storage and (ii) identify any potential barriers to the adoption of best practise management to better understand how adoption can be improved.

In reaching growers, this output will utilised grower groups and the National Risk Management Initiative as ready-made networks, it will utilise existing networks established as part of previous grain storage projects, GRDCs targeted email facilities using GRDC resources such as event submission form, email campaign request form and ensure compliance with the brand centre guidelines.

Output 4.

Title: Undertaken development activities that improve grain storage outcomes.

Description: All components of grain storage considerations are improving and evolving.

By March 2026, and annually thereafter, this investment will contribute to the evolutionary progress of grain storage improvement in at least four of the following areas:

• undertake development activities to assist growers and manufacturers to improve the effectiveness and functionality of existing and/or new on-farm grain storage,

• co-develop and extend improved engineering approaches to advance the effectiveness of aeration systems in new and existing grain storages,

• examine novel methods of maintaining and/or improving the quality of grain in storage and its implications post-storage,

• improve techniques for storing and treating grain in temporary storage (e.g., silo bags),

• identify information gaps that exist for best practise management to re-inform output 3,

• provide follow up support for the above,

• update fact sheets on grain storage including bunkers and other forms of storage.

Output 5.

Title: Progress health and safety knowledge and awareness relating to stored grains.

Description: This output covers risk identification and management, safe operation of grain handling equipment and storage facilities, grain testing and documentation, working at heights, confined space procedures, chemical handling, and fumigation protocols.

By March 2025 and annually thereafter develop and deliver health and safety course and events (integrated with output 3), videos and printed materials, nationally to improve knowledge awareness and practises of:

• operating around trucks, augers and tractors,

• working at heights and in confined spaces,

• operating with protectants and fumigants,

• loading and unloading various storage facilities.

Output 5 will link with GRDC’s investment (RDC2107-0010PX) with the Rural Safety and Health Alliance ‘Ag Safety Data Net’. The objective of the RDC2107-0010PX is to establish a farm safety data system that provides meaningful metrics for safety planning, action and reporting. This investment is managed in GRDC by Rebekah Starick (Rebekah.Starick@grdc.com.au) and externally by AgriFutures.

Output 6.

Title: Improve and/or expand industry capacity and capability.

Description: There are still opportunities to improve the capability and capacity of skilled expertise in grain storage to assist the delivery of outputs 1 to 5 inclusive. This investment will continue to improve the skill base of existing and new staff on issues related to on-farm grain storage.

It’s expected by March 2026 and annually thereafter the following will be completed:

• new or existing staff training on technical knowledge relating to all aspects of grain storage (e.g. outputs 1 to 5) will be undertaken,

• new or existing staff training on workshop delivery and event management,

• new or existing staff training on effective communication to improve practise change.

Output 7.

Title: Monitoring, evaluation and tracking industry metrics and trends.

Description: The purpose of monitoring, evaluation and tracking industry trends is to (i) establish the effectiveness of the investment in influencing practice change and (ii) to identify future opportunities for delivery of on-farm grain storage extension.

By March 2025 and annually thereafter collect metrics to inform monitoring, evaluation and identifying industry trends by:

• conducting surveys at workshops to establish existing on-farm storage capacity at the commencement and completion of this investment.

• Completing surveys to assess the frequency of stored grain assessment and best practise management of on-farm grain storage.

• Establish estimates of value improvements growers have realised from storing grain on-farm.

• Track metrics that may provide insights for industry changes.