Passionate about Western Australian agriculture. Customer Relations Manager with GRDC West. Eastern Wheatbelt born and bred. Views are my own.
Dunsborough, Western Australia
Joined July 2014
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Luke Dawson retweeted
If you haven't yet visited our booth at the @SoilScienceAust National Conference, Wednesday is it! Mark your spot on our Australian #soils map, consider the soils common to your region, and answer a couple of soils resource questions. @theGRDC @MurdochUni @UniNewEngland @uwanews
Luke Dawson retweeted
💧 WA growers are testing whether better drainage can turn waterlogged paddocks back into productive cropping country.
Twelve sites will examine landforming, surface and subsurface drainage, with early results showing improved establishment and trafficability.
The GRDC investment is led by @PinionAdvisory, along with Farmanco, Premier Ag and Ag Logic.
🔗 bit.ly/4yBQ9Uq
📸 Evan Collis
#GRDC #GroundCoverOnline #Drainage #Waterlogging #SoilManagement
Luke Dawson retweeted
A new project led by @MurdochUni will improve grain growers' understanding of the impact of soil pH on micronutrient availability and crop nutrition, helping them make better fertiliser management decisions: soilswest.org.au/beyond-lime… @GRDCWest @LiebeGroup #soilswestat10
Luke Dawson retweeted
Could gravel or sand help crops establish in stubborn problem patches?
@SLR_Agriculture’s Ella Shaylor explains how surface mulches are being tested on non-wetting, waterlogged and saline soils to conserve moisture and limit salt movement.
📹 Watch the full video: bit.ly/4z2bTtB
#GRDCVideo #SoilConstraints #SoilManagement #CropEstablishment
Luke Dawson retweeted
Steve Marcroft presented today at SFS Agrifocus near Streatham Vic and indicated to growers that “Canola on Canola” is not DOUBLE the pressure..it is 40X the blackleg disease pressure on the sown crop. We can’t afford to put the Industry at risk either Domestically or for the all important Export Trade. @Steve_Marcroft @theGRDC @cbhgroup @GrainIndustryWA @AustOilseeds @PacificSeeds @Cargill @GrainCorp @NSWFarmers @VicFarmers @GrainProducers @GrainSA
Luke Dawson retweeted
Scientific Presentations Webinar: Presenting to Influence 📊
Every presentation shares information, but the most effective presentations inspire action. Do you know the difference between informing and influencing?
In GGA’s final online Lunch & Learn tutorial for 2026, Peter Newman from @PlanfarmWA will share his experience around informing versus influencing, helping you communicate scientific ideas in a way that inspires action and changes behaviour.
📆 19 November
👥 GGA members only - relevant for research and project officers
💻 Delivered online
🕐 1 hour
🎟️ $30 + GST per ticket
Register here: 👉 gga.org.au/activity/lunch-le…
With harvest on the Southcoast underway or imminent don't forget to think about Snails Monitoring and management for 2027!
Nail the snails: A management guide youtu.be/Ni4noqfbW0E?si=UUaX… via @YouTube
Luke Dawson retweeted
An interesting side-side from my field trial on Avondale
Left: canola monoculture 👈
Right: canola–lupin intercrop 👉
Same management & 0N applied
@AHRI_Team @GGA_WA #WADroughtHub
Luke Dawson retweeted
By request from local farmers (some keen chem reps!), I'll run through the latest scald results from high disease pressure Tenterden site. 6Oct, 11.30am at the trial. Come alone. @Stirlings2Coast @DPIRDbroadacre @TheGillamii @GRDCWest
Luke Dawson retweeted
Our latest N-Watch results are in, and they’ve given us plenty to think about!
Perillup and Cranbrook are showing some interesting differences between tissue and soil N results as well as between each treatment.
N-Watch is about following these sites throughout the season all the way to seeding in 2027, rather than looking at one result in isolation. We’ll continue testing, reviewing the data and watching how each of the different nitrogen strategies responds as the season progresses.
@theGRDC @GRDCWest
Luke Dawson retweeted
Can a satellite help you find the #weeds worth spraying?
At the Tambellup NGN Forum, @data_farming's Tim Neale will unpack weedSAT: using high-resolution satellite imagery to detect larger weeds & create spray maps for existing equipment.
22 Sep | 4–7pm grdc.com.au/events/list
Luke Dawson retweeted
Tambellup growers: join the GRDC National Grower Network Forum on 22 September.
Connect with local growers, raise regional priorities and hear from @data_farming's Tim Neale on weedSAT and satellite-based weed detection.
4–7pm | The Pavillion
Free: grdc.com.au/events/list#NGN
Luke Dawson retweeted
🎙️ Could locally sourced gravel and sand help improve crop emergence on some of WA’s most challenging soils?
A project led by @SLR_Agriculture is testing surface mulches in areas affected by non-wetting soils, waterlogging and salinity. The treatments can help conserve moisture, reduce evaporation and limit salt movement towards the soil surface.
🎧 Hear from SLR Agriculture’s Ella Shaylor and grower Jake Latham in the latest episode of GRDC’s WA soil series podcast.
bit.ly/4x4Y9wv
#SoilConstraints #SoilAmelioration #GravelMulch #SandMulch
Luke Dawson retweeted
🌱 A new $7.4m national soils education initiative will make decades of research easier for growers to access and apply on-farm.
Led by @SoilsWest at @MurdochUni, the project will bring together practical, research-backed information through online learning, field activities and demonstrations.
Announced at the Dowerin Machinery Field Days, the investment also involves @UniNewEngland, Adelaide University and @uwanews.
🔗 Read more: bit.ly/3U7WIjb
#SoilHealth #SoilScience #SoilManagement #GrainsResearch
Luke Dawson retweeted
🐁 Mouse activity on your farm?
Growers and advisers can now report local mouse activity. Verified reports will be used alongside GRDC monitoring to inform agroecological zone assessments required under the APVMA permit for zinc phosphide 50 g/kg (ZnP50) bait.
🔗 bit.ly/4fTk6rQ
#GRDC #Pests #MouseManagement
Luke Dawson retweeted
The @theGRDC Harvester Setup Workshops are back again in 2026 🚜🌾
Hitting the road this September, with five stops across the region!
@FaceyGroup are proud to be the Western Region Coordinators, working alongside local grower groups to deliver the 2026 dates. 🤝🌾
📍 Cascade — Monday 21 September
📍 Mount Sheridan — Tuesday 22 September
📍 Carrolup — Wednesday 23 September
📍 Kukerin — Thursday 24 September
📍 Quairading — Friday 25 September
Come along for practical tips on measuring harvest loss, weed seed control and harvester fire prevention — all designed to help you get the most out of harvest.
Save the date and stay tuned for more details!
@PrimarySales @KondininGroup
#GRDCHarvesterSetUpWorkshops #PrimarySales #GRDCWest #FaceyGroup #GRDC #HarvesterSetup #Harvest2026 #WAgrains #GrowerGroups #BroadacreFarming #agresearch #growerledlocalresearch #growergroupsworkingtogether #worksmarternotharder #GetMoreGrainInYourBin #2026Harvest #SmallTweaksBigResults
Luke Dawson retweeted
Agronomist Quenten Knight and Grower Jeremy Whyte showcase how #landforming uses natural and constructed gradients to assist excess water to flow off paddocks, reducing ponding and #waterlogging, and increasing yields.
This video is part of a 6-part GRDC series looking at managing soil constraints in WA.
Watch now ▶️ bit.ly/4wdzia2
@PinionAdvisory
#GRDCVideo
Luke Dawson retweeted
The 2nd course in a free online learning platform developed by @SoilsWest at @MurdochUni will equip growers to make critical farm management decisions.
The course, Understanding Soil and Plant Nutrition, draws on cutting-edge research from national soils and nutrition projects, as well as insights generated through recent GRDC investments across the western region, to support stronger understanding and wider adoption.
Read the full story bit.ly/4x0UzUs
#GroundCoverOnline #SoilManagement #CropNutrition
Luke Dawson retweeted
🚜New video tutorial: Variable Rate Technology for nitrogen application.
Learn a simple, cost-effective way to implement VRT on farm
✔ Improve N efficiency
✔ Reduce input costs
✔ Build resilience in a drying climate
🎥 Watch here: youtu.be/HmHxQAcDHMA
Thanks to @data_farming for their support in putting together this tutorial.
#AgTech #Farming #VRT #Nitrogen #SWWADroughtHub
