A new dual-purpose wheat variety developed by CSIRO will help support growers recoup losses from adverse weather events such as unseasonal heat and frost.

The high yielding Hurdle wheat variety, which is the culmination of a decade’s work by the national science agency, will be showcased to growers at a field walk in Western Australia this week.

CSIRO Chief Research Scientist Dr Greg Rebetzke led the team breeding the new wheat, and said it could be used for grazing, hay or grain and would provide greater certainty of income for growers in the face of extreme climate events.

“This new wheat was developed in response to the challenges of climate change experienced by growers,” Dr Rebetzke said.

“You can imagine the frustration of a grain grower with nothing left at the end of a long season, because of crop damage due to extreme weather events such as heat and frost.

“This new dual-purpose wheat, if it is affected by extreme weather, will offer growers a choice of grazing or cutting for hay or can be sold for grain.”

The new Hurdle variety of wheat came about after Dr Rebetzke joined the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Western Panel for a spring tour through the Lake Grace region of Western Australia following a significant frost at flowering.

“Wheat crops were decimated with little opportunity for any grain yield for growers,” he said.

“The panel spoke with Lake Grace growers who were frustrated with how regularly wheat crops were damaged by frost.

Joining Dr Rebetzke on that tour, which took place a decade ago, was now retired grain farmer, former head of Australia’s Grower Group Alliance and former GRDC Western Panel Chair Peter Roberts.

Mr Roberts said it was a fortuitous meeting that has led to a great outcome for growers.

“Properties like ours in the eastern and southern WA wheatbelt were becoming increasingly prone to frost, so we were being forced to plant later and then have heat affect our crops at the end of the season, leading to reduced yield and quality,” he said.

“I spent three days with Greg in the spring of 2016 discussing the range of challenges being faced in the industry and showing him firsthand how frost had fried that season’s wheat crops, leaving growers devastated.”

After meeting with the growers, Dr Rebetzke started working with his team on a response, which first led to the release of dual-purpose hay and grain wheat varieties Bale and Dual. These wheats were released in 2021, with strong support from LongReach Plant Breeder’s Colin Edmondson and Mike Faulkner from AgriLink.

“These two varieties were the first dedicated hay-grain wheats in many years and arose through close connection with industry to deliver to growers,” Dr Rebetzke said.

“The new higher yielding variety Hurdle, which is named after Hurdle Creek in WA where the meeting with growers first took place, is a great example of how CSIRO can respond to the needs of industry.”

The field walk to showcase Hurdle will take place on September 17, with its commercial release anticipated to take place in the coming months.