The Grains Farm Biosecurity Program (GFBP) is excited to welcome Adam Jalaludin as the new Grains Biosecurity Officer (GBO) for Queensland (QLD). Based at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Toowoomba, Adam will work to enhance biosecurity preparedness and management at both farm and industry levels, contributing to the resilience of QLD’s $2 billion grains industry.
Grains grown in QLD include winter cereals (wheat and barley), summer cereals (sorghum and maize), winter pulses (chickpea and faba bean), summer pulses (soybean and mungbean), canola, and specialty crops such as navy beans, lentils, rice. Various feed grain crops, particularly sorghum, maize and oats are also common. According to ABARES, in 2024–25, winter crop production in QLD is expected to increase by 68 per cent, reaching 2.9 million tonnes – 41 per cent above the 10-year average compared to 2023–24.
Having worked in agricultural research and crop protection for eight years, Adam has experience in both winter and summer broadacre crops and understands the important role best practices play in safeguarding the grains industry from biosecurity threats.
“I’m really keen to build on the great work of previous QLD Grains Biosecurity Officer, Kim McIntyre, who retired earlier this year,” Adam said.
Before joining the GFBP, Adam worked on the Surveillance of Herbicide Resistance Weeds in Australian Grain Cropping project for the QLD grain cropping region, and conducted research on non-chemical weed control practices, such as chaff tramlining and crop competition. He also has experience in the agrichemical industry, having conducted trials for herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and seed care products in broadacre and horticulture settings.
Adam is passionate about supporting grain growers and is keen to begin his new GBO role including getting out in the community at upcoming events in the region.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet growers, answer questions, and provide information on how to implement sound biosecurity practices on-farm,” he said.
He also looks forward to collaborating with his interstate GBO counterparts in the other four grain growing regions. Adam is passionate about a collaborative approach to ensure consistent implementation of farm biosecurity practices, as well as knowledge sharing between regions, growers, and supply chain members.
Launched in 2007, the GFBP is Australia’s flagship biosecurity extension program. The program is managed by Plant Health Australia (PHA) and funded by growers through Grain Producers Australia (GPA), with support from QLD, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, and South Australia state governments.
The GFBP supports the grains industry by:
developing and distributing grains biosecurity material
raising awareness of priority pests, diseases, and national issues
demonstrating simple methods to implement on-farm biosecurity
facilitating surveillance data recording
communicating consistent biosecurity messaging throughout the grains supply chain.
Grain producers in Australia continue to deal with a dynamic biosecurity landscape full of challenges. The GFBP has identified the first five high-priority pests that can help producers focus their biosecurity efforts on the most critical areas:
A variety of practical resources can be found on the Grains Farm Biosecurity website, including online training, biosecurity manuals, guides, templates, fact sheets, and videos, to assist grain growers in identifying and managing biosecurity risks.
Contact details:
Mob: 0429 727 690
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