Leaving the farm gate!!

This is usually the last image that the farmer has of their commodity.  As farmers we are fantastic at being able to grow, spray, harvest etc our crops but very little of us have a good understanding of what happens to our commodity once it leaves the farm gate.  We also don't usually have a good understanding about what happens to turn this commodity into a consumable product.

As part of my 2013 Nuffield Scholarship sponsored by the GRDC I am looking to gain an understanding into the supply chain processing and potential value adding opportunities for the pulse industry.

One of my aims is to understand what is involved to get the crop that we sowed into the ground to the end consumer.  along the way I will also get an understanding about what globally effects the price at the farm gate.

Above is usually the last time that the farmer gets to see their grain.

The trucks are being loaded with Broad Beans from "Boonderoo Pastoral Company" carted by "Glen Carron" bulk haulage (Pat Harold 0408 087563) to be delivered to "Australian Milling Group" (David Marshman 0427 823975).

Harvesting beans

Broad beans like most pulse crops are harvested with a conventional harvester at "Boonderoo" we use a John Deere 9770 STS header. This machine can be used for harvesting coarse grains (wheat, barley etc) and oilseeds (canola, monola etc).

Harvester set up will be different depending on what sort of pulse crop you are harvesting. However one important setup aspect to remember will be to ensure that the crop is not damaged during the harvesting process. As quite a few pulse crops are used for the human consumption market the visual appearance of the grain is very important.

Bean harvest underway

Harvesting of beans has now commenced at "Boonderoo Pastoral Company". Looking forward to following these in my Nuffield travels and see what part of the world they end up on a plate.

Will keep you updated along the processing line to see how they are going and what happens to them once they leave the farm gate.

Nuffield and GRDC

I would like to thank my Sponsors for my 2013 Nuffield Scholarship the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

I am excited to travel around the world looking at various different aspects of agriculture. 

My study topic is to "Gain and understanding into the Supply Chain Processing and potential Value Adding Opportunities for the Pulse Industry".  My main aim is to look at how pulses are processed and marketing options once they leave the farm gate.

I think that we as farmers are great at sowing, growing harvesting etc pulse crops but there is a knowledge gap as to what happens to them once they leave the farm gate. I would like to explore what is required to turn our pulse commodities into marketable products

Below is a picture of the 2 GRDC recipients for a Nuffield 2013 Scholarship.



Pictured is myself on left, David Shannon (GRDC Southern Panel Chair) and Matthew Hill (GRDC Scholarship recipient from Esperence WA)

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Welcome to my Blog

I would like to Welcome everyone to my Blog, I am a recent recipient of a 2013 Nuffield Scholarship sponsored by the GRDC.  I am looking forward to starting my journey at the end of February where we will embark on our Global Focus Program (GFP).

I cant wait to visiting the following countries on my GFP: New Zealand, Canada where we will be on the Contemporary Scholars Conference (CSC), USA, Mexico, Brazil and the UK.