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Dry Season Resources Podcast

The South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub is dedicated to sharing information that supports growers in preparing for dry seasons.

On the Hub’s Dry Season Resources podcast, we chat with farmers and industry experts about preparing for a dry season. Topics covered range from early planning to tactical decision-making as the season changes throughout the year and setting up for the following season.

Find the latest episodes of the Dry Season Resources podcast below. Subscribe to the Hub’s podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

S4E3 Water quality the hidden driver of spray efficacy

4 March 202633:19

Water quality is one of the most overlooked factors in spray performance, yet it can have major impacts on efficacy, compatibility and long-term resistance risk. Agronomist Bill Campbell from Campbell Ag and Damon Cusack from the Fitzgerald Biosphere Group (FBG) discuss how water quality varies across Western Australia and what growers can do to better manage it.

S4E2 Managing livestock health and disease during dry seasons

18 February 202633:00

Dr Izzy Drage, Field Veterinary Officer at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), and Katherine Davies, Senior Development Officer in DPIRD’s Animal Systems group, discuss the practical and strategic approaches to managing livestock during prolonged dry and hot periods

S4E1 Managing farming risks with soil surveys

4 February 202634:44

Aidan Sinnott (VRT Solutions) and Giles McMeikan (Farmanco) explore how soil surveying can be used to manage risk in modern farming systems, soil surveying technologies available to farmers, how soil data can help improve water use efficiency, and the practical implementation of variable rate technology (VRT).

S3E23 Salinity in the Wheatbelt: insights from four decades of research

17 December 202541:45

Dr Richard George (DPIRD) unpacks the complexity of salinity in the Wheatbelt, tracing its historical roots, examining the pressures of land clearing, climate, and agricultural practices on salinity levels, and outlining the practical strategies that have emerged from years of research.

S3E22 Putting real-time water usage data into the hands of horticulturalists

3 December 202527:30

Declining rainfall and reduced water availability since the 1970s have made efficient water use in food production more important than ever. In this episode, Dr Julia Easton and Professor Mark Gibberd from the Centre for Crop Disease Management at Curtin University discuss the On Farm Water Demand project, funded through the WA Node of Food Agility CRC.

S3E21 Building better projects through effective co-design

19 November 202537:05

In this episode, we’re joined by Jethro Sercombe, Director of Innovation Practice at Third Story, and Tanya Kilminster, SW WA Hub Knowledge Broker, for a deep dive into co-design in agriculture. Together, they unpack what co-design really means and explore how it can be applied to agriculture-related projects to achieve stronger outcomes.

S3E20 Sandy soils series: Managing water and nutrients for horticulture

5 November 202521:07

Neil Lantzke, Principal Research Scientist in DPIRD’s Intensive and Irrigated Plant Systems team, shares his expertise on growing horticultural crops on the sandy soils of Western Australia’s Swan Coastal Plain. Neil explains why these soils struggle to retain nutrients and water, and highlights innovative agricultural practices that are being developed to address these issues.

S3E19 Sandy soils series: Understanding and managing non-wetting soils

22 October 202531:47

Murdoch University’s Professor David Henry and recent PhD graduate Maria Pfeifle, now with DPIRD, explore the issue of non-wetting soils (also known as soil water repellency) in Western Australia. They unpack what it is, why it occurs, and what remains unknown, delving into the complexities of managing this persistent challenge.

S3E18 Sandy soils series: Re-engineering sandy soils into productive land

8 October 202535:28

Dr Gaus Azam, a soils researcher at DPIRD leading the GRDC project “Re-engineering soils to improve the access of crop root systems to water and nutrients stored in the subsoil”, joins Esperance agronomist Quenten Knight from Agronomy Focus to discuss the soil re-engineering work underway across Western Australia.

S3E17 Sandy soils series: The benefits and challenges of sandy soils

24 September 202530:31

We’re kicking off our Sandy Soils podcast series with Dr Stephen Davies (DPIRD) and Dr Therese McBeath (CSIRO), co-conveners of the 2025 Sandy Soils Conference in Perth. They share highlights from the conference, and dive into the key challenges shaping sandy soils management in agriculture.

S3E16 Renewables in agriculture: How regional communities can stay ahead of the renewable energy curve

10 September 202528:22

The third and last episode of Farmanco’s limited podcast series on integrating renewable energy into agriculture explores how regional communities can stay ahead of the renewable energy curve, featuring Shire of West Arthur's Vin Fordham-Lamont and Karen Harrington.

S3E15 Renewables in agriculture: Are renewable energy projects worth it for WA growers?

27 August 202524:44

The second episode of Farmanco’s limited podcast series, "Diversifying Farm Income: Integrating Renewable Energy into Agriculture", explores whether renewable energy projects are worth it for Western Australian growers. Our guests are Farmanco's Farm Management Consultant Greg Easton and icubed Consulting Senior Associate Fraser MacMillan.