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Pesticides and Technology

Pesticides and Technology sub-committee

Grain Producers Australia’s Pesticide and Technology sub-committee oversee and coordinate the grains industry response to issues relating to pesticide access, use, stewardship and impacts on trade and market access, plus emerging digital and automation technologies. 

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The GPA Pesticides and Technology sub-committee is comprised of nominated grain production experts from State Farming Organisation members and supported by GPA technical consultants.

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This GPA sub-committee currently coordinates the grains industry response to:

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  • Government reviews of agricultural pesticide and veterinary medicine (AgVet) policy

  • Pesticide access and investment in Australia

  • Pesticide reviews

  • Pesticide stewardship including spray drift management

  • Trade Advice Notices (TANs)

  • Pesticide Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) and impact on international trade

  • Crop biotechnology 

  • Agricultural digital data policy

  • Agricultural autonomy and robotics

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Click here to view submissions on behalf of the Pesticides and Technology sub-committee

National Residue Survey

The National Residue Survey (NRS) is an industry-funded export residue survey on Australia’s grain crops.

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The NRS data supports the ongoing use of pesticide products within Australian agriculture, while also verifying the best-practice of Australian farmers. The high level of compliance by farmers in Australia as well as maintaining international food standards allows Australian grain a commercial advantage in international trading.

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Since 1993 and following the enactment of the National Residue Survey Administration Act 1992 (Admin Act), the Australian grains industry have funded the NRS residue monitoring programmes and associated activities via a statutory levy on primary production and exports.

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Click here for more information on the NRS and their most recent Grains Report.

National Working Party on Pesticide Applications

The National Working Party for Pesticide Applications (NWPPA) was established in 2010 to assist stakeholders to work with these changes and outcomes resulting from proposed reviews of existing chemical products. The role of the NWPPA is to:

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  • Facilitate targeted research that supports the use of practical downwind buffers.

  • Support and facilitate the development of a national training framework for pesticide application that would, for example, support the implementation of drift reduction technologies (DRTs) (lower buffer distances), best management practices and improve product efficacy.

  • Provide a forum to assist growers and other stakeholders to understand current APVMA policy and work with regulators to provide realistic and practical risk management.

  • Seek and facilitate investment from stakeholders and affected parties in support of a nationally coordinated program that supports the use of practical downwind buffers.

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The vision of the working party is that the regulatory system is science-based and recognises the use of drift reduction technologies, better education and practice to enable the use of smaller, practical buffer zones.

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The NWPPA Executive Committee is comprised of technical representatives from grower groups, spray manufacturers, spray applicators and research and development corporations, across viticulture, horticulture and broadacre agriculture who guides the work of the NWPPA.

 

GPA is also an active participant on the Executive Committee of the NWPGP.

National Working Party for Grain Protection

The National Working Party on Grain Protection (NWPGP) is the body responsible for providing management and leadership to the industry in the areas of post-harvest grain storage and hygiene, chemical use, outturn tolerances, international and domestic market requirements and chemical regulations. GPA is an active participating industry stakeholder in the NWPGP.

 

Click here for further information on the National Working Party for Grain Protection:

Grains Statistics Steering Committee and Technical Working Group

The Grains Statistics Steering Committee is an advisory committee, chaired by GRDC. The Steering Committee guides and supports the activities of the Grain Statistics Technical Working Group, currently chaired by a GPA Director, to provide farmers, industry and Government with the grains statistical information required for good decision making.

 

Key aims of the committee and working group include:

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  • Share information and knowledge in relation to the relevance, accuracy and reliability of the grains production system and supply chain.

  • Understand current data sources and collection arrangements to support common standards and definitions which facilitate increased data sharing and reduced collection activities for grains data.

  • Identifying information priorities for the grains industry

  • Improve the quality, comparability and relevance of grains statistics and improve the efficiency of data collection by facilitating access to key grains databases.

  • Operate within the guidelines of the FAIR principles in order to make data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable

  • Provide data to deliver a robust understanding the production, productivity and use of Australian grains in a timely manner to key stakeholders.

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Code of Practice for Agricultural Mobile Field Machinery with Autonomous Functions in Australia

Grain Producers Australia has started talks with the WA Government to seek formal endorsement and adoption of a new Code of Practice that will help drive the future use of autonomous farm vehicles and machinery on farms throughout Australia. The Code of Practice for Agricultural Mobile Field Machinery with Autonomous Functions in Australia has been developed with input from grain producers throughout Australia with manufacturer support and technical input from Australia, the US and the EU. This is an exciting and proactive initiative that is designed to enable future access to a rapidly emerging technology that will deliver productivity gains for growers and the industry.

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The GPA led Code of Practice has been developed with the support of GPA State Farming Organisation members, the Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia (including John Deere, CNH, AGCO, Kubota and Croplands) and the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia.  The aim of this Code of Practice is to support the commercial introduction of autonomous tractors and machinery into Australian field-based plant industries. With widespread agricultural machine autonomy imminent in Australia, it is essential there is a proactive producer-led approach to ensure both social and regulatory confidence in the adoption of autonomous agricultural equipment. 

 

A Code of Practice for agricultural field machine autonomy must meet the needs of the Australian grains industry and other Australian field-based plant industries. It must also be informed through review and consultation with groups involved in the international development of autonomy standards. There is an open invitation for other field-based plant industries to support this Code of Practice.

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