Australian Grain Growers: Facing the Challenges of Pest Changes and Control

To help grain Australian growers manage their crop pests, the National Invertebrate Pest Initiative (NIPI) was set up with the support of the Grains Research and Development Corporation. NIPI pulls together scientists from state government departments, universities, farmer groups and CSIRO. One of NIPI's main aims is the development of IPM (integrated pest management) systems for the grains industry which can be captured in the form of guidelines and supported through training activities with advisors and growers. NIPI also has a group of scientists working on more focussed pest management issues across the three grain production regions and is involved in collaborative projects with cotton and horticultural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) to look at common areas of concern designed to bring together current knowledge of invertebrate pests and their management in Australian grain systems.