Wheat book gives farmers a helping hand

25/9/00
"The Wheat Book: principles and practice" is a new publication for farmers containing the latest information about wheat farming in Western Australia Primary Industry Minister Monty House announced today.
The publication, jointly funded by Agriculture Western Australia and the Grains Research and Development Corporation, provides a one-stop-shop reference, summarising the current research and data.
Mr House said The Wheat Book was an invaluable tool for farmers, which built on the original edition in 1991.
"Over the years The Wheat Book has been used extensively by growers, public and private advisers and agribusiness and has been acknowledged as a key information resource for the grains industry," he said.
"This new edition updates the knowledge in the grains industry and maintains its relevance to growing wheat in the new millennium, responding to the issues being faced by both growers and the industry in general"
The publication includes information on recent developments in agronomic areas such as water use, crop development, managing herbicide resistance, soil improvement and stubble retention.
Another feature of the book is the agronomic packages for high protein durum wheat and noodle wheat.

The Wheat Book follows production right through to the market, with information on marketing options and risk management.
The book would be distributed to all grain growers free of charge throughout the Wheatbelt during the next few weeks, and is available to agribusiness at cost.
Mr House said the publication reflected the importance of the wheat industry to the State's economy.
"In 1999 Western Australia produced 9.8 million tonnes of wheat, 38 per cent of the nation's total wheat production," Mr House said.
"The diversity and depth of The Wheat Book will help farmers, especially those involved with improvement groups like TOPCROP, to set benchmarks and help improve their productivity, sustainability and profitability."

Media contact: Julie Cole 9481 2044