Full Name: Frost Extension in the Upper North
Funding Body: GRDC
Aim of the demo site is to provide land managers with confidence in timely decision making around frost impacts. Ability to convert a part-paddock into an alternative hay crop before biomass becomes un-palatable. Tools for working with advisors and with machinery operators to ensure accurate treatment zones.
The purpose of this investment is to extend and apply the outcomes of previous R & D investments relating to frost to build knowledge that will inform grower and advisor decisions relating to pre-season planning, in-season management and post-frost event responses.
The investment will:
1. Develop and deliver a targeted and localised delivery mechanism for grower and adviser discussion and knowledge sharing regarding what is currently known and how this knowledge may be practically applied here and now.
- Inform the GRDC of future investment in frost R, D & E, aligned to GRDC’s Key Investment Target 1.2 Strategy, including identification of possible approaches to achieve target strategy outcomes and build a platform for extension of future frost research.
In particular the investment will assist in the extension of current tools, practices and knowledge to help enable growers to better understand and manage frost risk across the landscape, farm or paddock scale; make informed and timely decisions to minimize the financial impact in the event that a frost occurs; and proactively extend and implement pre-season strategies to mitigate the financial impact of frost, based upon an assessment of risk.
Importantly this investment helps to shift the emphasis of addressing frost related challenges from research driven responses to those led by growers (grower pull as opposed to just research driven). One key element will be to use this initiative to understand the frost related issues that can inform research direction; as it is explicitly acknowledged that the issues can be quite varied from region/sub region. This investment also does not take the place of frost research in each region.