Glen Riethmuller

Research Scientist

My role in the department

Glen conducts machinery research on broadscale crops, such as improving seeders, sprayers and harvesters. He is very interested in showing growers the benefits of the controlled traffic farming system.

Conservation of soil properties for maximum crop production is hard without controlled traffic due to the increasing weight of modern machinery. Glen believes autonomous vehicles have potential in agriculture to reduce the negative effects on managers of dangerous tasks or skilled labour shortages.

Contact information

glen.riethmuller@dpird.wa.gov.au

+61 (0)8 9081 3111

+61 (0)417 975 360

My background

Glen has more than 39 years experience in agricultural research on cereal and pulse crops in Western Australia. He is originally from a black soil farm near Toowoomba in Queensland where he completed his Agricultural Engineering degree.

Glen went to Oklahoma State University for two years to complete a masters of science degree in Agricultural Engineering, and then on to Merredin for farm machinery research.

Projects

DAW1902_003RTX Re-engineering soils to improve the access of crop root systems to water and nutrients stored in the subsoil. Investigating ways to modify the soil to improve root growth and yields.
DAW1902-001RTX Increased grower profitability on soils with sodicity and transient salinity in the eastern grain belt of the Western Austarlian region. Testing new methods of water harvesting for improved crop growth and yield in the eastern wheatbelt.
UOA1803-009RTX Optimising plant establishment, density and spacings to maximise crop yield and profit in the southern and western regions.
Harvesting of difficult or short crops is an interest, including reducing harvester front losses.

Key Expertise

Farm machinery, autonomous vehicles, tractors, autosteer, seeders, seed drill, press wheels, sprayers, harvesting machinery, precision agriculture, UAV for NDVI images, non-chemical weed control, controlled traffic machinery. Member of Engineers Australia