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Upcoming events

Vitivoltaics in the Valley – Trial Results

Wednesday 22 April 2026 | 10:00 am – 2.30 pm | Bickley, WA

Join us for a FREE visit of a demonstration site that will serve as a proof-of-concept for deploying agrisolar in Western Australia’s viticultural systems.

About the project

The climate of the Swan Valley and Perth Hills wine regions presents unique challenges, such as high temperatures and reduced water availability during the growing season. These conditions make it an ideal candidate for the demonstration of agrisolar solutions.

The South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (SW WA Hub), in partnership with industry partners, has installed Western Australia’s first solar array built above a commercial vineyard at Plume Estate in the Perth Hills.

Similar arrays were installed over trial sites being run by the University of Melbourne and University of Adelaide to help understand the impacts on fruit production.

Soil, climate, vine, yield and quality data have been captured at the Plume Estate demonstration site, which have been used for modelling production and economic impacts. This demonstration phase is expected to lead to further investment in research, development and adoption of the concept as part of a national CRC Zero Net Emissions project and a proposed Agrisolar CRC.

Learn more about this SW WA Hub project.

This project is supported by the SW WA Hub, through funding from AgriFutures and the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

About the event

If you’re interested in the trial results and economic modelling behind integrating sustainable energy solutions into a viticultural operation, or you’ve heard about “agrisolar” and want to understand it better, register for this event to tour the proof-of-concept agrisolar demonstration site and explore the concept in more depth.

Cost: free

RSVP by: Friday 17 April (for catering purposes)

What to bring: hat and closed-in shoes.

Presenters:

Marcus Geisler, Plume Estate
- Owner of the host vineyard
- Marcus will present on how he sees agrisolar fit within his vision for his business, and his experiences in integrating the concept into his operations.
Dr Jo Wisdom and Doug Hamilton, Grower Group Alliance
- Project leads of the SW WA Hub agrisolar project
- Jo and Doug will talk about the agrisolar project, the opportunities of implementing agrisolar in Western Australian vineyards, plus examples of agrisolar from around the world.
Dr Caitlin Moore, University of Western Australia
- Technical Lead for the project
- Caitlin will discuss the sensor measurements and information collected during the trial to help validate project outcomes.
Andrew Easton, Sunrise Energy Group
- Solar array installation partner
- Andrew will speak to the solar panel spec’s, design of the installation, site requirements, and energy production from the installation.
Matthew Harrison and Ganesh Pandey, University of Tasmania
- Modelling and Data Analysis leads
- Matthew and Ganesh will present the trial results and economic modelling analysis for the photovoltaic installation.

Extension and Adoption Training Program 2026

Our Extension and Adoption Training Program is a six-part professional development series designed to strengthen your skills in agricultural extension and adoption practices.

This program is perfect for grower group staff, industry consultants, and extension or research professionals looking to enhance their ability to support farmer adoption of new practices.

Approximately 21 hours of content will be delivered throughout the program.

Participation is flexible: register for some or all dates.

Dates: 6 May | 11 May | 12 May | 27 May | 9 June | 18 June

Location: Modules 2 and 3 (11-12 May) are in person at the DPIRD office, 1 Nash St, Perth 6000. All other modules are online.

Dates and delivery

Where module is marked with ***, it is highly recommended.

Module 1 - Prioritising Projects

Wednesday 6 May, 10am to 12:30pm – Online

This training supports participants to clearly define and refine investment and strategic priorities for their group or business. Participants will learn how to identify key focus areas and develop them into well‑structured proposals suitable for funding applications or for guiding research, development and extension activities.

Module 2 - Extension Planning ***

Monday 11 May, 10am to 4pm – In-person at DPIRD Office, 1 Nash St, Perth

This workshop introduces an extension planning framework to support effective practice change. Participants will learn the fundamentals of extension and adoption planning, including identifying target audiences and designing a coordinated suite of extension activities to support the uptake of new knowledge and practices.

Module 3 - Facilitation ***

Tuesday 12 May 9 am to 2pm – In-person at DPIRD Office, 1 Nash St, Perth

This facilitation training is designed to build confidence and capability in facilitating meetings and group discussions. Participants will learn practical facilitation techniques, including how to structure discussions, manage group dynamics and effectively engage stakeholders.

Module 4 - Event Planning ***

Wednesday 27 May, 10am to 12:30pm – Online

This training focuses on planning and delivering effective extension events. Participants will learn how to maximise the value of guest presenters and subject matter experts, design engaging event formats, and ensure events are aligned with audience needs and expectations to drive strong participation and impact.

Module 5 - Using AI in Extension

Tuesday 9 June, 10am to 12:30pm – Online

This new training course explores the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in extension, emphasising that technology cannot replace human relationships, trust, or judgement. Participants will learn how to gather, verify, and convert information using AI to create relevant extension materials. The training aims to develop skills to ask the right questions, critically evaluate AI outputs, and use AI effectively and appropriately.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)

Thursday 18 June, 10am to 12:30pm – Online

This training provides an introduction to monitoring and evaluation to support effective program delivery and continuous improvement. Participants will learn how to define meaningful evaluation questions, understand the steps in developing a monitoring and evaluation plan, select appropriate methods, and use evaluation findings to inform management decisions and demonstrate impact.

Learning Objectives

While this six-part program is designed as continuing professional development for those who have some experience in extension and adoption and are ready to take their skills to a higher level, newcomers are also welcome and will benefit from taking part.

Learning objectives include:

Understand modern approaches to extension and adoption,
Identify and document your project context including Research, Development, Extension and Adoption (RDE&A) outcomes and priorities,
Know how to develop the business case for any RDE&A work your group wants to undertake,
Clarify target audiences’ desired levels of change,
Understand the steps in developing an extension plan to achieve desired level change,
Understand the key steps in developing an event plan for a field day or workshop,
Have a basic understanding of facilitation techniques used in an agricultural context,
Understand the basic steps in monitoring and evaluation.

Benefits of the Extension & Adoption Program

The benefits of doing this program will be immediate but can last a lifetime:

Gain clarity around the technical delivery process,

Develop confidence and professional skills to enhance relevance of your group to stakeholders,

Define your organisation’s extension and adoption (E&A) vision and goals,

Learn how to identify where delivery format needs adjustment for impact,

Improve your group’s ability to have local impact with adoption of improved practice.

Format and Features

Delivery – Due to the geographical spread of stakeholders, delivery will be in a blended learning format with two workshops in person and four online using MS Teams.
Handouts – A useful collection of handouts will be curated.
Peer-to-peer learning – Enjoy an interactive process and benefit from other experienced agriculture industry professionals with similar challenges
Interactive Q&A format – The sessions will be interactive with the instructor fielding questions as they arise.

Places and pricing

There is space for 20 delegates for the in-person modules and places will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

For the in-person modules (11 – 12 May), registrations will close on Monday 4 May.
Hub Consortium Partners and GGA network members have access to subsidised tickets with a ticketing fee of $55 per online session and $110 for the face-to-face sessions (plus ticketing fee).
All other industry delegates are welcome with a ticketing fee of $110 per online session and $176 for the face-to-face sessions (plus ticketing fee).
A waitlist will run.

Accommodation

Participants for in-person modules will need to organise their own accommodation.

Enquiries

Direct any enquiries about participation in the event to Cassie Howell (0429 659 219, cassandra.howell@gga.org.au) or Theo Nabben (0403196381, theo.nabben@gga.org.au).

Facilitators

Recent events

Webinar | SMART SPRAYS: maximising the benefits from rainfall

Thursday 29 January 2026 – 12:00 pm AWST | Online (MS Teams)

Join us for the first session in the Building Resilient Farming Systems lunchtime webinar series for an in-depth look at SMART SPRAYS: Maximising the Benefits from Rainfall, one of six projects supported through the SW WA Hub’s Transformational Program.

Project leads Professor Dan Murphy and Cheryl Rimmer from Murdoch University will introduce the SMART SPRAYS project and the problem it set out to solve: how to capture more rainfall where it matters and improve plant water-use efficiency in a drying climate. The team will share how the project moved from concept to field demonstrations, the challenges encountered, and the key learnings emerging from testing biodegradable polymer sprays designed to enhance water retention in cropping systems.

Hear how collaboration across researchers, growers and industry unlocked new insights, what further work is needed, and how SW WA Hub funding has accelerated innovation to strengthen drought and climate resilience for WA broadacre farming.

This project is supported by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, Murdoch University and the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration.

Presenters:

Lucy Tomassini – Project manager, South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub
Professor Dan Murphy – Centre Director and Biochemist, Bioplastics Innovation Hub, Murdoch University
Cheryl Rimmer – Research Officer, Bioplastics Innovation Hub, Murdoch University

Did you miss the webinar?

Register for Forum25: GGA’s premier industry event

The Grower Group Alliance’s flagship event, Forum, will take place from 31 July to 1 August 2025 at the Joondalup Resort.

Held every two years, this highly anticipated event brings together grower groups, researchers, industry leaders and stakeholders from across the agricultural sector for two days of networking, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration.

Program

The program will kick off on Thursday evening with a welcome networking event, followed by a full-day conference on Friday.

As part of the program, the SW WA Hub will host an invitation-only stakeholder breakfast on the morning of Friday 1 August. The breakfast will feature a keynote presentation from Jethro Sercombe (Third Story) on practical tools for effective co-design. This will be a timely and valuable session for all future leaders in ag innovation.

Thursday 31 July
3.00pm – 5.00pm | ‘GGA Strategy 2026-2030’ member workshop (GGA members only)
6.00pm – 10.00pm | Welcome Cocktail Party

Friday 1 August
7.00am – 8.15am | Breakfasts – [#1] SW WA Hub hosted breakfast, plus [#2] Project Officers breakfast
9.00am – 4.45pm | Conference Day [9 sessions – topics and speakers being finalised]
4.45pm – 6.00pm | Closing sundowner [Free]

Registrations

‘Early Bird’ tickets up to 20% off are available until 3 July.

Drought Resilience Showcase

The Drought Resilience Showcase, hosted by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, is an exclusive, invitation-only event.

The Showcase will highlight innovative projects from around Australia funded by the Future Drought Fund. These initiatives are designed to enhance drought preparedness and resilience, and are specifically relevant for Western Australia’s agricultural environment.

This unique opportunity will allow attendees to engage directly with key stakeholders, leading researchers, and innovative producers who are driving the future of drought resilience in Australia.

The Showcase will be followed by a sundowner, proudly sponsored by CBH.

Date: 11 December

Location: Bentley Technology Park

For enquiries, please contact our Hub Adoption Manager, Julianne Hill, at swwadroughthub@gga.org.au.

Briefing Session on Dry Season Resources

Join Hub Adoption Manager, Julianne Hill, for a one-hour briefing session to (re)familiarise yourself with the Hub’s library of dry season resources.

Date & Time: 23 April 2024 at 11:30 am

Location: online (Zoom)

The session will cover:

Where to find the new dry season resources.
What resources are actually available?
How you might extend these out to your own members should the need arise.

This session is organised by the Grower Group Alliance (GGA) as part of their ‘Extension Fest’ Briefing Series – a new series comprising six key briefing sessions on valuable resources available for GGA member groups to access and extend out to their own member stakeholders.

The Hub’s briefing session on dry season resources is open to everyone.

Dial in on the day using the Zoom link available on the GGA website.

2023 Science to Practice Forum

The forum brings together farmers, researchers, government, industry, and the community to explore innovative tools and practices helping our farmers and regions prepare for future drought.

Hosted by award-winning television journalist and presenter of ABC TV’s Landline, Pip Courtney, the 3-day forum featured engaging discussions with speakers and panel members as well as presentations and video content of Future Drought Fund and Hub-led projects.

Each day of the 2023 forum focussed on a particular theme: research and development, farmers, producers and agricultural advisors, community and policy.

Three WA videos featured during the event included Soil moisture monitoring in WA, Filling feedgaps with saltbush in WA and Wattleseed enterprise in WA

Vitivoltaics in the Valley

Tuesday 28 October at 10:00 am | Plume Estate, Bickley WA

Join us for a FREE visit of a demonstration site that will serve as a proof-of-concept for deploying agrivoltaics in Western Australia’s viticultural systems!