A new project is connecting former ADF servicemen-and-women with producers, to fill skill shortages on grain farms.

Without enough hands to operate heavy machinery and trucks, the industry is at risk of failing to meet the demand of overseas markets, and could lose business to international competitors.

Rural Reporter Rhiannon Soliman-Marron caught up with Operation Grain Harvest Assist facilitator and retired Lieutenant Colonel Garry Spencer AM, to find out more.