Nothing wild or wolfish about this Coyote

28/09/2019
Nothing wild or wolfish about this Coyote

A new narrow-leaf lupin variety has been recently launched by Australian Grain Technologies (AGT)

Coyote offers growers a high yielding & stable lupin variety which can cope with a range of conditions.

AGT took over the lupin breeding program from the Department of Primary Industries & Regional development in 2016. In May of this year, lupin breeder Matthew Aubert was appointed to its Northam, WA facility.

Lupins are a significant crop in the WA repertoire, and the excitement around this new breed stems not just from high yields but for its stable performance across environmental conditions.

It compares well to the leading variety, Jurien as slightly higher-yielding with better stability across soil types and rainfall zones. This environmental variation has not impacted upon Coyote’s yield or quality.

These results were a significant driver in the decision to release it into the market, and the uptake has been good. Marketing manager Alana Hartley was keen to point out that this release is a milestone for both the AGT and for lupin breeding across the country. The AGT lupin program encapsulates a focus upon high protein and strong yields, and they utilise around 20,000 plots per year.

Ms Hartley intends to work with growers to utilise this variety in their crop rotations and hopes growers will remember the catchy title.

In case you were wondering about that title, the variety gets its name from the Coyote gold mine in the North East of Western Australia. It is intended that a number of new lupin varieties will follow and be named after WA gold mines.

MALDIID is working hard to offer the RHIZO-ID service for Lupins but has encountered some challenges with the nodule structure of these plants. Further R&D is being done to solve those hurdles, so watch this space!

Innovation is a business buzz word in the Primary Industries grain sector.

25/09/2019
Innovation is a business buzz word in the Primary Industries grain sector.

The Curtin University Business School’s Ignition Innovation accelerator program has up skilled scholarship winners Bronnie Kemp and Louise Edmunds. In its fourth year of awarding these scholarships, the Dept of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), has helped to encourage and foster innovation and business opportunities for the grains industry.

When speaking from her experience, Bronnie Kemp expressed an intention to grow her agricultural software business, which provides instant analysis of soil and tissue infield, which will undoubtedly aid crop profitability. She felt the Curtin program had given her an edge with networking and valuable entrepreneurial feedback. All are invaluable in terms of optimising and availing her techniques to the Australian agricultural industry.

Co-recipient, Louise Edmonds has a different yet equally valid proposition. She plans to run a regenerative training program for approximately 60 Wheatbelt farmers to develop a carbon farming market after an examination of WA soils and their capacity to store carbon.

These young women join an elite yet expanding alumni who have led the way in the innovative grains industry. Our own CEO and co-founder Dr Sofie De Meyer participated in the Ignition program in 2015, which was the starting point for her to embark on the entrepreneurial pathway and commercialise MALDIID.

More information on the program: https://campaign.curtin.edu.au/ignition-business-training/

 

Are Peas the next best thing in the plant-based protein game?

06/09/2019
Are Peas the next best thing in the plant-based protein game?

The humble pea is literally jumping out of its shell to participate in the new groundswell to replace animal protein with plant protein, in many non-meat and non-dairy food options.

Agriculturalists are cottoning on to the fact that the humble pea may be the next best plant-based protein to hit the market.

If the pea doesn’t feature in your vegan burger or alternative milk latte, it soon might! In fact, it’s been reported by research firms that 757 new pea related foods hit the shelves last year!

The pea has long been part of the traditional meat and three veg meal or mum’s pea & ham soup. They practically showed up on every plate in the family home in the ’80s. However, this small player, particularly the yellow variety, is showing merit in competing with market leader’s soy, grains & corn. Taking the competition head-on peas can profess to be drought-tolerant & needing less water. As well as needing little fertilising due to its internal nitrate stores & therefore it is excellent for crop rotations. They also very rarely cause allergies, unlike some of their counterparts.

Canada has recently taken dairy foods off the recommended human food guidelines and is leading the US in its research into plant-based products. Significant investment has gone into a pea protein facility in Saskatchewan financed by an environmental activist and film director. The director of investments in the Saskatchewan Ministry of trade believes the trend is here to stay.

Canada, unlike the US, is not affected by tariffs, particularly from China.

Scientists in the US also have the pea on their radar, trying to discover the generic nature of pea protein concentration to make a great protein-packed pea.

So, where does the pea end up? Pea starch in noodles, pea protein in non-dairy ice creams & milk & pea fibre in all of the above and more. Feeding the world sustainably in the future will require a food revolution. This humble little legume may be a pioneer to sustain a healthy environment with healthy inhabitants and healthy food.