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April 2026

RiskWi$e Updates and Resources 

RiskWi$e has a growing suite of online materials you can access at any time and promote within your grower group networks, including decision tools, guides and templates, webinars, and examples that translate risk concepts into on-farm actions.

In this newsletter, we’ll highlight resources from the 2026 pre-season updates. If there’s a topic you’d like covered in 2026, please let the National Project Lead (NPL) team know.

2026 GRDC updates and articles 

A tractor moving through a field with crop stubble

It's been a busy start to 2026 with loads of GRDC and other updates around the country.  See the below links for key RiskWi$e updates:

Spreading your fertiliser budget further

Lindsay Bell et al.

Nitrogen fertiliser decisions – the good, the right and the risky

James Hunt

Nitrogen decisions - how to get them more right more often

Corinne Celestina et al

Benchmarking 'good' farm decision-making

Brendan Brown et al

Balancing productivity with risk in the low rainfall zone - a grower's perspective

Barry Mudge

Science driven decisions when margins are tight: advising growers with confidence when every dollar matters

Cam Nicholson

Improving nitrogen fertiliser decision making in northern NSW

Skye Traill et al

Comparing nitrogen management strategies to inform risk–reward, Griffith NSW

Rachael Whitworth, Barry Haskins et al 

Risk management at sowing - frost or heat?  |  GroundCover article

 

For many more RiskWi$e resources see the RiskWi$e website.

RiskWi$e is a National Risk Management Initiative (NRMI) seeking to understand and improve the risk-reward outcomes for Australian grain growers by supporting grower on-farm decision-making. Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) have invested $30 million to support this 5-year national initiative, running from 2023 to 2028.

Cropping Decisions in a Risky Environment

hART'S WEBINAR - 9 APRIL

TIMING. ROTATION. NITROGEN. CLIMATE.

HART, along with AgCommunicators hosted a webinar earlier this month on "Cropping Decisions in a Risky Environment" for the Central SA Action Research Group. The one-hour panel session addressed pre-season cropping decisions and offered practical insights to navigate an increasingly risky start to the season. Questions on timing, rotations, nitrogen/inputs and climate were addressed in this interactive online workshop. Hosted by Belinda Cay from AgCommunicators, the speakers included: • Barry Mudge, Barry Mudge Consulting • Peter Hayman, SA Drought Hub Deputy Director • Stefan Schmitt, Agricultural Consulting and Research • Sam Trengove, Trengove Consulting

WATCH THE WEBINAR

WA RiskWi$e Podcasts

SUBSCRIBE TO THE GGA PODCAST CHANNEL

Making the call: Farming decisions in WA

This RiskWi$e podcast is a mini-series exploring how Western Australian grain growers are making smarter, more informed decisions on-farm.

TUNE IN HERE

A reasonable start. . . but still some tricky decisions ahead

Part 1 OF A 3 PART SERIES

Series prepared by Andrew Ware, EPAG Research

Heading into seeding 2026 with more soil moisture than we've seen in years in the Eyre Peninsula, SA, but that doesn't mean decisions are simple. This season isn't a clear "good" or "bad", it's both, sitting alongside each other. The challenge is making decisions now that hold up either way. Andrew Ware has broken it all down in the first of our three-part RiskWi$e EP series. Worth a read when thinking about your seeding program.

READ THE ARTICLE

Access the Fast Graphs app

a mobile friendly website

N budgeting across deciles now online

Fast Graphs goes online – a tool to help explore a range of outcomes to slow your thinking. This app does not provide advice, rather it performs simple calculations based on user inputs to explore the upsides and downsides. The inputs can be easily adjusted with a slider to see how the graph and results change in the complex context of a real-world decision.

ACCESS FAST GRAPHS

Upcoming project events

RiskWi$e Quarterly Progress Meeting

Tuesday 28 April, 2:15pm (ACST)

RiskWi$e Reading Club - “Risky Business”

The next RiskWi$e Reading Club will discuss “Risky Business”, with Dr Amir Abadi (DPIRD), Nicholas Thorsager (DPIRD) and Mike Krause (P2P Agri).

The Ri$ky Business program is a hands-on workshop platform that helps participants experience what it’s like to be a mixed farmer making decisions with uncertainty. It enables participants to put in the hot seat of running a farming business in a ‘gaming environment’.
The speakers will introduce the program and talk us through the learnings on risk-oriented farm management.

Please join us to hear from our speakers. As usual we will aim for around 25 minutes of presentation and 25 minutes of discussion about what they have learned and what it might mean for RiskWi$e.

Date: Tuesday 5th May
Time: 11:30am WA | 1pm SA | 1:30pm Eastern
Where: Online, Microsoft Teams

 

RiskWi$e Annual Conference - Bendigo

Date: Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 June 2026

Location: All Seasons Resort Hotel Bendigo
171-183 McIvor Hwy Bendigo Vic 3550

If you would like to attend any of these events, but don't have the details in your calendar already, please contact Shelly Nicholls, Research Project Manager, RiskWi$e.