Grain growers across Eyre Peninsula are set to benefit from a significant injection of research funding as the South Australian Grain Industry Trust (SAGIT) announces a $3.5 million investment into the future of the state’s cropping sector.
This year, SAGIT has funded 28 new grains research projects, with a total investment of $2.9m.
Co-funding partnerships with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and the South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (SA Drought Hub) lifts the total value of projects to $3.5m.
For Eyre Peninsula, several key projects within the 2026-27 funding cycle are designed specifically to address regional challenges.
These include a SARDI-led project co-funded with GRDC titled ‘Identifying and managing potassium deficiency on Lower Eyre Peninsula’, which addresses a critical soil health issue for local producers.
Additionally, Ag Innovation & Research Eyre Peninsula (AIR EP) will lead the Eyre Peninsula internship in applied grains research 2027, providing a vital boost to local capacity building.
AIR EP executive officer Naomi Scholz said the internship is a 12-month opportunity for a recent graduate to head to Eyre Peninsula, and the team was going through the selection process now.
“The 2027 internship is going to be hosted by EPAG Research; they’re based in Port Lincoln,” she said.
“They get to come, experience fieldwork and they get to do a project of their own.
“They have a listen to what farmers are doing, are interested in and want help with, and then they come up with their own research project and they implement it from start to finish, the design, implementation of the trial and reporting on the results.”
SARDI has also secured funding for the Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2027-2029, ensuring that high-quality data remains accessible to the region’s growers.
SAGIT chairperson Dr Andrew Barr said the co-investment model continued to strengthen the organisation’s ability to deliver high-value outcomes for South Australian grain growers.
“The co-investment approach allows SAGIT to expand its research scope and support a broader range of projects that deliver practical outcomes for growers,” he said.
Dr Barr noted that by working closely with partners such as GRDC and the SA Drought Hub, the industry could align priorities, reduce duplication and ensure research investment was both efficient and impactful.
“Collaboration across the grains industry is critical to making the most of available funding and ensuring the adoption of research outcomes on-farm.”
Beyond local soil issues, the research also targets emerging statewide challenges that directly impact Eyre Peninsula, such as the rapid evolution of net blotch toward fungicide resistance and the ability to predict the risk of herbicide residues in crop rotations.
Dr Barr expressed gratitude to the community, saying the programs played a critical role in strengthening industry capability and ensuring skills and knowledge are transferred to the next generation.
“We are grateful to South Australian grain growers for their ongoing support, which enables SAGIT to fund independent, locally relevant research that directly benefits their businesses,” he said.
“The successful projects span a wide range of priority areas including crop protection, disease management, soil health, input efficiency, climate resilience, and farming systems innovation.”
