Australasian Grain Science Association Conference

The team from the Functional Grains Centre (FGC) attended the 2019 Australasian Grain Science Association Conference in Melbourne in August.

12 FGC members presented posters while 8 made oral presentations (Michelle Toutounji, Rachael Wood, Drew Portman, Stephen Cork, Esther Callcott, Siong Tan, Shiwangni Rao, Chris Florides)

PhD student Stephen Cork said, “It was great to connect with many of the people from previous AGSA meetings and the wider Functional Grains Centre family  spread out through the grain science community.

"Our team contributed some excellent talks, posters and supported the AGSA meeting by being the welcoming face at the registration table and providing comprehensive social media coverage including FGCTV interviews of the speakers."

Australian Summer Grains Conference

The Functional Grains Centre also had a strong presence at the Australian Summer Grains Conference on the Gold Coast in July.

Postdoctoral researchers Dr  Siong Tan and Dr Ali Khoddami made oral presentations on Sorghum and FGC Honours and PhD students made up 20 out of the 41 poster presentations at the Conference.

They presented findings from a diverse range of projects from chickpeas and sorghum, to rice, lupins and lentils, showcasing research to improve human health, grain production and processing.

PhD student James Lee enjoyed gaining a greater understanding of the field application of research and meeting grassroots industry representatives including growers, suppliers and agronomists.

"The Conference showed the importance of being able to identify, translate and present research in a respectful manner to those who are most likely to benefit either directly or indirectly from the research being performed," said Mr Lee.

PhD student Stephen Cork said, “The Conference provided an excellent opportunity to survey the breadth of the summer grains industry in Australia, from sorghum, to sesame, mung beans and corn.Key issues raised included gaining return on crop investments, precision agriculture and suggestions to improve industry governance.”

Congratulations to PhD student Rachael Wood and Honours research student Borkwei Ed Nignpense who picked up poster prizes.

FGC research presented at Charles Sturt Honours symposium.

Functional Grains Centre students were amongst those presenting their research at the annual Charles Sturt Higher Degree Research (HDR) and Honours Symposium in Wagga Wagga in July.

FGC PhD student James Lee said, “This symposium gives HDR students valuable experience presenting their research and generates equally valuable discussion about the research and feedback about the way students have presented it.

“It is lovely to see that most of the research is focused on contributing to the overall well-being of rural and regional NSW; with most topics covering topics such as agriculture and physical and mental health.

“Overall, this was a good opportunity for me in getting solid practice in presenting my research in a way that could be easily understood by people that may not have the same background as I do.

“There’s also the added benefit as a distance student, as I am based in Sydney, to come by Wagga Wagga to catch up, ask questions and keep in touch with everyone and the University in general – plus I like being out of the city,” Mr Lee said.

Showcasing research paddock to plate

The Functional Grains Centre has also shared our research with delegates on Grain Growers Limited 2019 Grains Innovation Tour. The tour gives 30 Australian government public servants insight into the grain supply chain.

FGC scientists and students working with rice presented their work at the AgriFutures Australia rice meeting in Yanco.