APPLICATIONS have opened for the Grains Research Foundation Limited’s (GRFL) investigative ‘Globalising Growers’ tour of the United States aimed at younger generation grain farmers.

It is the third tour to the US organised by the GRFL and has evolved from the initial 2014 Texas trip, to now covering Texas, Kansas and Illinois.

National Sorghum Producers, Texas A&M University, Kansas State University and Illinois Corn are just a few of the places which will be visited on the 2017 tour.

The aims of the tour, which will run for around 11 days on the ground in the US at the beginning of August, are:

• to expand knowledge of US farming organisation structures and funding;
• to understand how research priorities are captured and then prioritized;
• to increase awareness of research being undertaken in the US;
• to consider what research needs to come to Australia; to participate in hands-on industry projection modelling at Texas A&M University.

Participant on the 2015 tour, Luke Skerman, said the trip was a fantastic chance to get out and see how farming, research and development, logistics, marketing, and ag sector politics happened in a different part of the world.

“The trip also is a great way of networking with like-minded young people from here in Australia, as well as creating valuable relationships with fellow farmers, researchers, and others in the ag world to better keep up with advances, and an exciting way of exposing yourself to new ways of doing things,” he said.

“The trip has given me a greater appreciation of the research and development that goes into the crops we grow and a hunger to learn more about how we do things here at home, and an eagerness to get involved with research projects and trials.

“The tour also gave me a greater appreciation of the global market we are competing in, which highlighted for me the importance of staying up to date with the latest farming practices, breeding and genetics, as well as technology to help make my farm as productive as possible.”

All young grain farmers are encouraged to apply for this worthwhile tour. Up to 15 participants will have their costs partially subsidised by the GRFL. Full fare participants are also welcome to participate, spouses are also highly encouraged to attend the tour on full fare.

Applications close on Friday, May 12, 2017. Successful applicants will be announced on Monday, May 15, 2017.

Source: GRFL, grf.org.au