NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA — The NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and the Grains Research Development Corp. (GRDC) have opened the new Wagga Wagga Agricultural Research Facility (WWARF). The A$2 million facility is expected to play a key role in the research and development associated with plant breeding, soil science and crop nutrition in southern New South Wales.

The facility is centrally located within the Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute.

“This new world class facility will improve our efficiencies and increase our capacity to conduct valuable research and development that will support the grains industry and our primary producers into the future,” said Scott Hansen, director general of the NSW DPI. “The new research facility consists of innovative light and temperature-controlled growth rooms, a biosecurity chamber, advanced cold storage solutions, pulse and cereal preparation stations, technical facilities and laboratories. This infrastructure investment is a necessary expansion of DPI’s research and development portfolio, to innovate, encourage scientific interest and secure productivity and profitability.”

Nigel Hart, managing director of the GRDC, added that the investment in the WWARF was necessary to ensure researchers had the infrastructure and technology to deliver high-quality research to support Australian grain growers.

“We have some of the best researchers and technicians in the world working here and to continue to attract and retain these quality specialists we need to have the best infrastructure and equipment,” Hart said. “GRDC invests in infrastructure to ensure our research community has every opportunity to drive outcomes that deliver genuine on-farm returns for grain growers. This facility in Wagga Wagga will improve protection of valuable germplasm and increase ability to process a greater number of samples. The state-of-the-art technology will also mean improved accuracy and reliability of data and the faster delivery of research results.”