Success in a CRC round is a very competitive challenge but the Core Team are optimistic that we will submit a proposal with a good chance of success.

The committment of resources to the bid is stronger than Round 13 with new participants committed. Our colleagues in NZ have now joined our ranks with Plant and Food Research and Lincoln University committing to the bid. Formalising the linkages will strengthen the bid and I look forward to building further research collaborations with our fellow ANZACs.

Over the last couple of weeks we have had discussions with CSIRO and linked the new Biosecurity Flagship proposal with the CRC. This is a win-win with the CRC bid providing a solid platform on which to build components of the flagship and the flagship will be a key component of the legacy of our CRC.

Participants have been requested to provide letters of committment to the CRC by May 20. By this stage we will have a full draft of the Impact Tool and be well into drafting the bid document. By early June we will be distributing a full draft for comment by participants. With a submission date of 1 July the clock is well and truly ticking. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to date by providing useful input to the process.

From now through to December there will be several key dates when we will be able to ascertain our likelihood of success. The first is next Tuesday when the federal budget is released. Fingers crossed there will be a positive outcome and the government will not make any signficant cuts to research and innovation and the very successful CRC program will continue with at least its current level of funding.

Last weekend I was fortunate to be able to visit the Ord region in WA with Jim Stack from Kansas State University. Kununurra is the town in the centre of the Ord region and it is a unique venue to see biosecurity in action. From the border checkpoint that operates 24 hours a day and checks every vehicle entering the state through to the individual farm measures the community has developed a unique regional biosecurity plan. Our tour guide for the weekend was Biosecurity Farmer of the Year Lachlan Dobson.