Speaking at the Durum Growers Association of South Australia forum at Blyth on Tuesday last week, Landmark regional manager Steve Mellington said the company was keen to support the ongoing expansion of the durum industry. In addition to locking-in a price for Durum 1, $400/t is being offered for Durum 2 and $380/t for Durum 3.

"We are reintroducing a hectare-based contract," he said.

"It must be whole-of-paddock, to try and remove any ambiguity with forecasting final yields.

"The contract converts to fixed tonnage in the first week of November."

As part of the contract, there would be two crop inspections during the season by a Landmark agronomist, plus a final yield assessment in November. The inspections would be charged at a flat rate of $200 a visit, he said.

Another speaker, Grains Research & Development Corporation project manager Sara Hely said there were issues with securing funding for smaller industries such as durum.

"With national production of 500,000t, it makes it hard to justify viable commercial investment," she said.

To attract funding to the industry, national production needed to be brought up to 1 million tonnes annually.

"We are looking to Western Australia and Victoria to help achieve this," she said.

Most seasons, South Australia produces 40 per cent of the national durum crop, with 65pc of that used domestically. New South Wales usually produces 55pc of the national crop, but only 20pc was used domestically. So, research in SA was focused on the domestic market, while interstate research looks more at quality for export markets, she said.

Association president John Green said growers needed to embrace new varieties to capitalise on opportunities.

"Production spiked at 800,000t in 2001 and has been going backwards in recent years," he said.