WeedSmart Week is being held in Clare next month - the first event of its kind for SA, giving croppers and agronomists access to practical research and implementation of tactics that are known to effectively manage the risk of herbicide resistance in weeds.
This year, the three-day event - themed 'Diversify and Disrupt - Use the BIG 6 to beat crop weeds' - will begin with a forum at Clare Golf Club on Tuesday, September 1.
The following two days will be spent touring farms in the Clare region to see how growers are implementing the WeedSmart Big 6 tactics to minimise the impact of herbicide resistance on their businesses.
This year's event will be co-hosted by Pinion Advisory, YP AG and the Hart Field Site Group and will be the sixth WeedSmart Week event.
WeedSmart program leader Lisa Mayer said weeds had gained the upper hand on some farms and had too much influence over farming system decisions.
"The herbicide and non-herbicide tactics that form the WeedSmart Big 6 have been researched and demonstrated in the field - we know they work," she said.
"Growers and agronomists in each region and on each farm can adapt the Big 6 principles to bring more diversity to their farming system and bamboozle weeds.
"WeedSmart is committed to exploring and promoting farming systems and technologies that produce 'more yield, fewer weeds' every year."
WeedSmart Week brings together a wealth of knowledge and experience from local and interstate growers, researchers, advisors and technology experts - putting the spotlight on herbicide resistance and weed management.
In August last year, YP AG leading agronomist Chris Davey attended the Horsham, Vic, event, along with Pinion Advisory agronomist Jana Dixon and growers Jarred Tilley and Adam Cook.
Chris says it was a very valuable experience that gave him the opportunity to interact with growers and industry people involved in weed management in a range of environments.
"The interaction between attendees was excellent as growers and agronomists swapped experiences and things they had learned about tackling certain weeds or modifying equipment," he said.
"Having WeedSmart week in Clare this year is a fantastic opportunity, particularly for SA growers, to get together and discuss new ideas and learn how different tactics are working for other growers."
There will be a focus on both herbicide and non-herbicide tools and plenty of chances to see how mechanical tactics like harvest weed seed control can fit into a variety of farming systems to drive down weed numbers.
Jarred Tilley, a mixed farmer at Kapunda, will be one of the host farmers for the WeedSmart Week farm tour.
Jarred is tackling glyphosate-resistant ryegrass and has recently added a chaff cart to their weed management strategy.
He has had good success with baling the chaff and using it to improve the profitability of their livestock enterprise.
The growers, agronomists and researchers speaking and participating in expert panels at the Day 1 forum will spark important discussions about herbicide resistance and how the Big 6 tactics can be used to target the weed species and farming systems in the southern cropping region.
Day 2 and 3 will be bus tours to farms in the Northern Yorke Peninsula and the Mid to Lower North regions around Clare.
Attendees will have several opportunities to see and discuss cutting-edge technologies such as the latest sprayer technology and a range of harvest weed seed control implements, including impact mills and chaff decks, and will find out how other growers in the region are implementing the Big 6 weed management tactics in a variety of farming systems and environments.
This flagship event of the WeedSmart program is supported by GRDC as the major sponsor and a wide range of herbicide and machinery companies that have skin in the weed control game.
Registrations are essential.
