Supporter Information:
The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is one of the world’s leading grains research organisations, responsible for planning, investing in and overseeing RD&E to create enduring profitability for Australian grain growers.
Website: www.grdc.com.au
Facebook: theGRDC
Twitter: @theGRDC
Luke Bradley
Nuffield Australia 2017 Scholar
Luke Bradley, from Springsure (near Emerald) in Central Queensland, received a 2017 Nuffield Scholarship supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) North. He travelled to world-best farming enterprises with the aim to reignite Australian leadership in precision agriculture.
Luke is a director of Wool-A-Roo Pty Ltd. His family farms a 5,300-hectare property producing dryland cereals and pulses, and run 350 head of breeding cows. In addition to their own farm, he provides contract farming services up to 20,000 hectares.
He is passionate about research and development in farming. Luke believes the key to the ongoing success of the agricultural industry is to share lessons amongst farmers and use existing knowledge and data better.
“Opportunities abound to simplify the use and results of new technologies. We can build data from one farm to the next. This data, being site specific, can be more valuable than general production research in some instances,” he said.
“Imagine if this live data was available 24/7 in your hand? It would help farmers to make better decisions and act on them more quickly.”
A previous participant in the 2016 Australian Grain Farm Leaders Program, Luke investigated leadership opportunities in the industry for his scholarship. He was keen to lead and bring together farmers and supporting industries in Central Queensland to drive research projects that don’t fit the scope of work undertaken by other research departments.
Acknowledging the impact Australian farmers have had on the face of global agricultural production over many generations, he is keen to ensure that Australian farmers remain at the forefront by continuing to invest in agricultural technologies. Luke also wants to ensure that adoption rates for new technologies, such as drones, for example, are not limited due to lack of education or awareness about these new developments.
Luke will travelled to the USA, Argentina, Brazil, China and New Zealand to see precision agriculture, intensive farming and the challenges surrounding the need for production gains in action.