CSBP Grow Better podcast CSBP Fertilisers

When will Agtech bring an end to working 20-hour days at seeding and harvest time, so farmers can spend quality time with family and watch the cricket? When will there be an automatic gate opener that’s failsafe and affordable? And how might agricultural robotics automation regenerate regional towns by creating a whole new crop of boots-on-the-ground skilled local jobs?  

Our host Grey Johnston caught up with Innovation Cluster’s Managing Director and Co-Founder of Agristart, Tash Teakle, to find out how their programs are connecting researchers and tech start-ups with growers to trial innovations, putting technology and data in the hands of farmers and, ultimately, reduce costs, improve yield and make life easier on the farm. 

Cunderdin-born and raised, with a PhD in Plant Biology and a background as an agricultural scientist, Tash is an experienced researcher, facilitator, grant writer and innovation specialist keen to share her passion for advancing Agtech and agrifood in WA.   

Find out what’s happening in WA’s leading business development program, Agristart HARVEST (proudly sponsored by CSBP), while our farmers are busy harvesting. Discover why WA is well-placed as a testbed and hotbed for innovation in everything from alternative protein food technology to robotics automation. And what’s got Tash really excited about Asia Pacific's premier agrifood innovation event, AgriFutures evokeAG, coming to WA in 2024? 

Want to know more about Innovation Cluster’s Agristart, the HARVEST program and AgriFutures evokeAG 2024? Visit the Innovation Cluster and evokeAG websites for details.

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We would love to hear from you! If you have any feedback on this episode or any other burning questions, get in touch with us @CSBPfertilisers on Facebook, X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

You’ve no doubt spotted the vivid Blue Trees of the Blue Tree Project around regional WA. But what they stand for is something incredibly meaningful for mental health support and awareness – a visual reminder to check in with ourselves, our loved ones and mates who may be going through a tough time.



In this episode dedicated to Mental Health Week (7-14 October), Blue Tree Project Founder and CEO (and 2022 Young Australian of the Year WA) Kendall Whyte joins our host Grey Johnston to talk about the positive impact of these iconic Blue Trees to spark conversations, change deeply engrained attitudes and prejudices and create a more mentally healthy future for our communities.



Kendall explains how it all started as a grassroots movement in 2019 to help others avoid suffering the pain of loss her own family has experienced; how the movement has spread across WA, Australia and all continents (just Antarctica left to conquer); and how their mission has branched out, getting boots on the ground in regional WA to grow community engagement, deliver awareness sessions and facilitate training.



Touching on the themes of this year’s Mental Health Week (Mind. Body. Environment.), Kendall also shares some of the ways we can help ourselves and others take better care of mind and body and take steps to build a supportive environment around us.



If you are in need of support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or text for support, or access online chat via lifeline.org.au (all available 24/7). Alternatively, visit bluetreeproject.com.au/seek-help for more support options. If you are in a life-threatening situation, please call 000.



Visit bluetreeproject.com.au for more info about the initiatives discussed in this episode, including:




How to bring people together to paint and register your own tree.
How to get an awareness session up and running in your local community.
And where to access training to upskill your workforce.



Follow the ‘CSBP Grow Better podcast’ to be the first to know about future episodes.



We would love to hear from you! If you have any feedback on this episode or any other burning questions, get in touch with us @CSBPfertilisers on Facebook, Instagram, X or LinkedIn.

Want to know what the West Midlands Group is doing differently with their cropping and pasture soil amelioration and crop rotations? Our host Grey Johnston was delighted to welcome Dr. Nathan Craig, Executive Officer of the West Midlands Group (WMG) in the studio to share WMG’s trials progress and some of the major outcomes delivered across the local shires of Dandaragan, Coorow, Gingin and Moora.

The West Midlands Group formed in 2003 and then in 2008 pivoted its focus towards agricultural research and development to find solutions to the broader on-farm natural resource issues that affect production.
In 2017, Dr. Nathan Craig joined the fold and has helped sharpen the group’s focus even more on producing high-quality data from local field trials to support the decision-making processes of their 350+ members.

In this episode, Dr. Craig tells us a bit about his own farming journey, from mixed enterprise farm management to his PhD from UWA on ‘Plant available nitrogen in monoculture wheat under long-term no-tillage.’ He also gives us his take on how the season’s progressing in the West Midlands and how they’re supporting group members.

Follow the ‘CSBP Grow Better podcast’ to be the first to know about future episodes.

We would love to hear from you! If you have any feedback on this episode or any other burning questions, get in touch with us @CSBPfertilisers on Facebook, X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Meet Josh Russell, the Operations Superintendent of Ammonia and Ammonium Nitrate at the CSBP chemicals business. 

He’s the guy responsible for keeping some of the highest-temperature and highest-pressure environments at CSBP running safely and efficiently – making sure everyone’s supported and all the right experts are in the room to get on top of any issues.

Josh takes us behind the scenes of CSBP’s world-class environmentally efficient production plant, refrigerated storage and loading facilities, and answers some of our biggest questions, like:


How do we get from nitrogen and hydrogen to ammonia, and from ammonia and nitric acid to ammonium nitrate that eventually ends up as Flexi-N?
What happens to the bulk of ammonium nitrate that doesn’t get turned into Flexi-N?
How does the energy balance work on-site? And where does the carbon from the carbon capture system go? Hint: You’ll find some when you crack open a beer!
And what’s the future for ammonia in our journey to net zero? Josh shares his excitement about the transition from grey to blue and green ammonia, and the potential of ammonia and hydrogen in energy production.


Follow the ‘CSBP Grow Better podcast’ to be the first to know about future episodes.

We would love to hear from you! If you have any feedback on this episode or any other burning questions, get in touch with us @CSBPfertilisers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

The wildflowers and crops are in bloom heralding the start of the 2023 Field Days season in regional WA, and it’s kicking off with the return of the two-day Mingenew Midwest Expo on August 9 and 10.



Here to tell us just how much this event means to Mingenew, and surrounding communities, is a local Mingenew farmer whose family has volunteered and steered the McIntosh & Son Mingenew Midwest Expo since its inception 40 years ago in 1983.

 

Andrew Cosgrove followed his father’s and brother’s footsteps into the role of Mingenew Midwest Expo Board of Directors Chair in 2021 and now joins Grey Johnston to share with us:


What’s changed since he was a little kid running around the expo playground?
What it’s like running the committee and the amazing team of local volunteers who bring the biggest event on the town’s community calendar together?
What’s new this year and how they’re finally bringing back the original two-day format we haven’t enjoyed since pre-COVID!



CSBP is thrilled to be back in Mingenew, Dowerin and Newdegate again this year to support the local community and the event.



This year, we’re proudly sponsoring the Mingenew Midwest Expo and the CSBP Trials 100 Main Stage, where we’ve got the best in the business presenting on the hottest topics of interest.



Drop by the CSBP Trials 100 Lounge to catch up with your local CSBP account manager and celebrate the agronomic milestones we’ve shared over a century.



Visit the Mingenew Midwest Expo website to find out more about how you can support this two-day community event and buy tickets: mmwe.com.au



Follow the ‘CSBP Grow Better podcast’ to be the first to know about future episodes.



We would love to hear from you! If you have any feedback on this episode or any other burning questions, get in touch with us @CSBPfertilisers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Meet one of CSBP’s major players in global fertiliser procurement (and biggest cricket fans) who comes into bat for WA growers 24/7 all year round, ensuring we get quality fertiliser on the farm, in the right quantities, at the right time.

Manraj Chatha, CSBP Supply Chain Coordinator, joins our host Grey Johnston to take us behind the scenes of CSBP’s agile procurement team. We look at what goes into sourcing phosphates, potash and nitrogen to manufacture fertilisers tailor-made for WA conditions.

Manraj talks tactics for running a tight ship in a tight market: the challenges of highly competitive global shipping bids and meeting stringent quarantine controls to safeguard Australia’s flora and fauna; how being the biggest importer in WA brings a lot of bargaining benefits to get the best quality and competitive prices for our growers; the curveballs he’s faced from recent global events; and how he goes to great lengths to keep all five of our warehouses stocked, from Geraldton to Esperance.

CSBP customers can stay informed with our monthly Market Update. Chat with your account manager if you're not already receiving our updates, or email us at customerservice@csbp.com.au

Follow the ‘CSBP Grow Better podcast’ to be the first to know about future episodes.

We would love to hear from you! If you have any feedback on this episode or any other burning questions, get in touch with us @CSBPfertilisers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.