PERFECT weather and plenty of rain has seen strong interest in planting mungbeans across the district.

Growers, agronomists and industry stakeholders attended a mungbean field day at Shepherd Grain in Moree on Tuesday to hear expert advice from keynote speakers, including Pulse Agronomy industry development manager, Paul McIntosh and  recently retired Queensland Department of Primary Industries entomologist, Hugh Brier.

Also speaking were Majella Bathurst, from Toowoomba crop and product development company, Censeo Field and Lab, and Lisa Kelly, a plant pathologist with the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries who works closely with Grains Research and Development Corporation, NSW DPI and the Australian Mungbean Association.

About 50 people attended the event, led by Shepherd Grain directors John Shepherd and Todd Jorgensen, and event co-ordinator Terry Kerr.

Mr Shepherd said mungbeans were  an “opportunity” crop, but plenty of recent rain and strong overseas market demand meant now was the time to consider mungbeans to the planting roster.

“There’re a couple of new varieties being developed, and weather conditions at the moment are ideal for planting mungbeans,” Mr Shepherd said.

“Planting season starts about now, and goes through to January. A lot of farmers haven’t grown mungbeans for a long time, and there’s been a few different agronomic techniques developed in the last few years.

“The field day also gave people the opportunity to have a look at our facilities. We’ve upgraded everything with mungbeans in mind.

“Our equipment is gentler on the grain, so the end product for farmers is much better,” he said.

“We’ve got a cutting-edge colour and image sorter that can really help lift quality.”

Mungbeans – vigna radiata – are gaining popularity due to nutritional benefits and culinary applications and are an opportunity crop that perfectly suit the recent rain.

They are harvested when the pods are fully mature and dry. Correct harvest time is crucial to ensure quality and nutritional value are retained.

“Mungbeans are used a lot in cooking as well as salads, and is a very healthy food. China consumes more than 90 per cent of Australia’s mung bean production,” Mr Shepherd said.

“They are also a very quick crop – only about 90 days to get it in and out.

“They can be harvested a couple of different ways; traditionally, and some people are now windrowing.”

Windrowing, also known as swathing, is a harvest technique that involves cutting crops at an angle and low to the ground.

“They’ll windrow rather than spray to desiccate it – cut it off and bring it to a pile – and harvest afterwards,” Mr Shepherd said.

Nearly all mungbeans grown in Australia are exported to Asian markets.

“About 90 per cent of mungbeans are sent overseas, and we do have a ready-made market for that,” Mr Shepherd said.

Field day co-ordinator Terry Kerr said the field day’s chief aim was to arm farmers and growers with the latest information and technology being used in mungbean growing, harvesting and marketing.

“Effectively, we want to make sure the mungbean seed is right for the farmer and right for their region,” Mr Kerr said.

“The talks were about making sure the sprays and chemicals used are applied at the right time, and that bugs are checked regularly and what to look for.

“We also spoke about the best time and right time to harvest mungbeans. After harvest, it’s over to us to put in place the best way to market and export them,” he said.

Shepherd Grain director, Todd Jorgensen, formerly with Associated Grain in Queensland, has been “playing with mungbeans” for more than 40 years.

“One of the most important things with mungbeans is having someone that knows how to process them well, and we have the people here to do that,” Mr Jorgensen said.

“There’s a lot of skill getting the good stuff out, and discarding the rubbish – that’s not easy.

“Keeping the capacity level up is also critical,” he said.

Paul McIntosh, from Pulse Agronomy, said the mungbean agronomy and marketing afternoon was well attended.

“With the recently-retired Queensland DPI veteran entomologist, Hugh Brier, backed up by Lisa Kelly from Queensland DPI plant pathology for disease control in mungbeans, the attendees gained valuable insight from two highly skilled mungbean researchers,” Mr McIntosh said.

Mr McIntosh completed the trip of knowledge with his broad, long-term knowledge in other facets of mungbean growing, including nutrition, weed control and general agronomy.

Majella Bathurst, from Censeo, spoke about a GRDC project involving building mungbean yields and quality capability for the next three years.

She encouraged growers and agronomists to be involved in farmer demonstration trials this summer.

“All attendees certainly valued the afternoon at the Shepherd Grain site, and a tour was provided by Todd and Shep afterwards,” Mr McIntosh said.