Foreword

Welcome

On behalf of the Society and the Conference Committee, it is a pleasure to say Welcome to the 13th Australian Agronomy Conference in Perth 2006.

Our intent is to thoroughly explore our theme, Groundbreaking Stuff, a term that draws upon our foundations in the soil, implies a strong relevance to practical agriculture and, at the same time, provides an image of scientific breakthroughs and applications. This theme captures the excitement we feel in developing this timely and lively conference.

The committee has worked tirelessly to prepare an excellent programme. There are six plenary sessions, each with papers and posters.

There are five special events: Two invited addresses provide an international context in agronomy: “Can science and technology feed the world” and “Science and achieving the UN Millennium Goals”. The conference also features a Young Agronomists and Farmers Forum, a new initiative to recognize a young agronomist, and the prestigious Donald Medal, which recognizes an eminent Australian agriculturalist close to retirement with a long and distinguished career. These awards will be presented during the conference.

I wish to thank the organising committee; it has been a pleasure to have such excellent support in developing our ideas. The conference was possible with the confidence of our sponsors, especially ARWA, LWA Healthy Soils and GRDC. The committee received excellent support from Esther Price Promotions as conference organiser and The Regional Institute for web-based registration and publication. Selected plenary papers are being published in a special issue of Field Crops Research.

The success of the conference is dependent on participation of members of the Society. I thank you for your confidence in allowing me the honour of chairing the Society. I hope you enjoy the conference, and it leads you to achieve Groundbreaking Stuff in future.

Professor Len Wade
President, Australian Society of Agronomy, 2006

 

Sponsors

The Conference Committee would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the 13th Australian Society of Agronomy Conference.

 

Major Sponsors

 

ARWA is a joint venture between Western Australia's five major agricultural research organisations:

  • Curtin University of Technology
  • The Department of Agriculture and Food
  • Murdoch University
  • CSIRO
  • The University of Western Australia

Created in November 2004, ARWA provides the agricultural sector with a more efficient and effective research and research training service.

Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms (HSSF) is a project of Land and Water Australia and funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry through the Natural Heritage Trust. The program aims to put into practice the significant work achieved by soil scientists, agronomists, farmers and hydrologists to gain a better understanding of Australia's soils.

HSSF works with farmers, community groups and researchers, and brings together and builds on existing soil health information. Data from the Australian Soil Resource Information System (ASRIS) is used to devise ways to improve soil health in commercial agricultural conditions, and these are tested using demonstration sites.

The Grains Research & Development Corporation is one of the world's leading grains research organisations, responsible for planning, investing and overseeing research and development, delivering improvements in production, sustainability and profitability across the Australian grains industry.

The GRDC's mission is to invest in research and development for the greatest benefit to its stakeholders - graingrowers and the Australian Government. The Corporation links innovative research with industry needs. The GRDC's vision is for a profitable, internationally competitive and ecologically sustainable grains industry.

 

Field Tour Sponsor

 

 

Wednesday Lunch Sponsor

 

Exhibitors

  • Grain and Graze
  • ICT International
  • Alosca Technologies
  • CSBP
  • WANTFA

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