Industry Updates from SABAC Autumn Meeting

Industry Updates from Autumn Meeting

28 Industry representatives joined the Autumn meeting in person and by virtual Teams meeting on the 31^st of March 2022. SABAC very much appreciates the vital and ongoing support of GPSA for hosting these important meetings.

There were 12 presentations providing updates to the committee on their current activities, with some key points as follows:

SABAC page on Barley Australia website is now live. This includes regional industry news section and a calendar of events, plus a members only online section where upcoming and previous meeting documents can be accessed.
Barley Australia has released its 1^st Accredited Variety Malt Performance Summary for the recently accredited variety Maximus.
Grains Australia recently appointed international specialist Dr John Ackerman as General Manager Trade and Market Access and experienced leader Dr Megan Sheehy as General Manager Classification.
The MBIBTC provided an update on newly accredited varieties and varieties progressing through the program in 2022 and beyond.
PIRSA – SARDI updated the committee on barley diseases detected in 2021 and fungicide resistance.
Viterra provided updates on barley receivals, container shortages, shipping and the Black Sea instability.
DFAT discussed progress with the WTO Dispute Settlement Body regarding the China Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty Measures on Barley from Australia and updated the committee on key dates for the upcoming hearings.
InterGrain, Australian Grain Technologies (AGT) and SECOBRA Recherches/Seednet all provided updates on the progress and qualities of their newly released barley varieties, and an overview of what is coming through the pipeline in NVT trials.
GRDC discussed barley research projects for foliar diseases, genetics, lodging tolerance and yield potential in high rainfall zones.
AEGIC summarised market outreach activities to date and advised they will continue online malting and feed barley webinars and grower seasonal updates in 2022.
Grower and agronomy updates indicated that 2021 was a mixed year with a lot of out of season rainfall. Potential issues of mice, locusts and increased cost of fertiliser were raised.