WMG Shares Machinery Investment Insights at 2025 RiskWi$e Conference

Aug 15,2025 RiskWi$e Project, 2025, Projects, RAD2210,

By Simon Kruger, WMG Project Communications Officer

West Midlands Group (WMG) Project Communications Officer Simon Kruger and Project Officer Kate Parker attended the 2025 RiskWi$e Conference in Toowoomba recently, joining grower groups, researchers, and industry partners from across Australia. The annual event provided a platform to share progress, compare approaches, and strengthen collaborations under the GRDC-funded RiskWi$e initiative.

Mingenew Irwin Group’s Annabelle Garrett presenting with WMG’s Simon Kruger

WMG co-presented with Mingenew Irwin Group (MIG) on early findings from the Northern Agricultural Region Machinery Decisions Survey, part of the RiskWi$e Enterprise Financial Decisions theme. The session explored:

How growers approach machinery purchase and replacement decisions.
The link between ownership structures, operational capacity, and seasonal timeliness.
The role of information sources and decision-making styles in managing machinery investment risk.

Preliminary analysis, completed in partnership with the University of Western Australia, was supported by infographic visuals and generated strong interest from participants. Several attendees followed up with questions on how the findings could guide practical, on-farm decision making.

WMG’s Simon Kruger presenting at the Toowoomba GRDC RiskWi$e Conference

Conference discussions revealed a shift in farmers’ perceptions of their most risky business decisions, from nitrogen management to machinery and land purchases. This aligns closely with WMG’s current focus on machinery decision-making and investment risk. Other takeaways included:

Opportunities to use behavioural data to better understand grower decision-making processes.
Greater clarity on how WMG’s work feeds into RiskWi$e outcomes, particularly around timeliness and operational efficiency.
Insights into the national Nitrogen Decisions Dashboard and its potential to support communication on nitrogen banking.

Ben White (Kondinin Group) delivered an especially relevant presentation on machinery efficiency metrics, offering ideas that could strengthen WMG’s ongoing work.

The conference also allowed WMG to build and deepen relationships with other grower groups and researchers. Notable connections included Riverine Plains, Queensland DPI, MIG, Liebe Group, Stirlings to Coast, CFIG, WANTFA, and Facey Group. Discussions highlighted shared challenges, overlapping survey work, and potential for future joint extension activities. WMG also explored crossover opportunities with the GRDC Grain Automate investment, which shares themes with RiskWi$e in automation, strategic decision-making, and operational efficiency.

Attending the RiskWi$e Conference has sharpened WMG’s understanding of how its machinery decisions research fits into the broader national effort to improve financial decision-making in agriculture. The insights and connections gained in Toowoomba will directly support ongoing extension activities, ensuring that local growers benefit from both regional and national knowledge.