Williams outlines big plans at GRDC update

"We will always need to maintain our focus on incremental yield improvements, farm input cost reductions and all of the risk management-focused investments, such as soils, water, heat and stress - to allow people to keep doing what they're doing, but better," he said.

"But the growth in the global population and world wealth means there is going to be more people with more money, and we can't grow luxury items like beef at the same rapid rate.

"That's where plant-based proteins may come to the fore and where the grain industry has a massive opportunity.

"We have the ability to grow those types of grains, we just don't do it at scale at the moment, due to constraints.

"These are the types of levers that GRDC need to be investing in - we need to make sure we have the right varietal development in order to produce the best grains in the world."

Mr Williams was among the keynote speakers at the GRDC Grains Research Update in Adelaide today - his first public outing since taking on the role in August.

"It was my maiden public speech outside of the Canberra office - I had been doing everything by video," he said.

He was one of the fortunate interstate speakers to make it to the forum, with some having to do their presentations via video link due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Prior to taking on the GRDC role from retiring Steve Jefferies, Mr Williams had been based overseas in senior executive positions with agricultural commodities business Bunge and food company Goodman Fielder.

He hopes to bring that experience to the GRDC - a "very well run, technically-focused organisation" - to "open up the commercial, value-creating opportunities".

"I think we are good at asking ourselves difficult scientific questions, and finding the partnerships to answer those questions, but we have only recently gotten into the extension of those answers and what we can do with them," he said.

Fellow keynote speaker Jonathan Wilson - the newly-appointed Grains Australia chief executive officer and former SA Grains Industry Blueprint project manager - also outlined how his industry body aimed to "maintain, enhance and add value to the Australian value chain".

When we talk about maintaining, we keep our existing markets and customers close and keep doing whatever we do to keep that market," he said.

"We then need to enhance those markets, find out what else can we sell to them, or where else can we sell that same product.

"And then we need to add by looking at new markets, new commodities, new functionalities - the things that are outside our current 'business as usual'."

Mr Wilson said GA planned to do this a number of ways.

"We will work with industry to develop priorities that will support profitability, maintain a competitive environment and maximising the impact of industry good functions," he said.

"We will look at the classification of grain, particularly the functionality of grain, and make sure the things we are doing are valuable.

"We will to look at market access; the market requirements for our existing markets; what will they be in 5-10 years time; and investigate the market requirement of other markets we don't have access to.

"We want to have a role in directing research that will help to understand growth trends; where opportunities are; and making sure we continue to focus on the right things.

"And we want to make sure industry has the technical support it needs to build that knowledge base so we can understand and articulate the value proposition that we have - the why we do what we do."

About 380 people attended the first day of the two-day conference, with a further 300 registered for the livestream.

Day one also included presentations about the rise of glyphosate resistance; ameliorating sandy soils; insecticide resistance; the National Phenology Initiative; blackleg disease in canola; a new rhizobia testing tool; the agronomic value of precision planting technologies; and maximising benefits from vetch, along with chaff lining; revised critical soil test values for key nutrients; the drivers of insect pressure (as seen in 2020); lentil performance on sandy soils; nitrogen fertiliser use efficiency; and the latest knowledge on treatment of soil acidification.

More to come.