Background Information

I was born in England, but grew up in Tasmania. I wasn't born into a farming family, and although I have always been interested in nature and the environment I more or less stumbled into studying agricultural science. I have found that not coming from an agricultural background has been both a blessing and a curse. For someone who never drove a tractor before graduation, being involved in field research and commercial agricultural operations has meant that I have had to rapidly learn to sink or swim. The things that may be taken for granted by someone with a farming background, like how to run an auger or how to manage sheep, I have had to learn quickly. On the other hand, not having pre-conceived ideas about how things are supposed to be has enabled me to think critically about why and how things are done.

I think that the triangle of food production through agriculture, relieving poverty, and preserving the environment is one of the most critical issues facing mankind. An excellent reminder is presented on the home page of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), showing a running estimate of both the world population and available arable land. I find that many people in environmental sciences have negative attitudes towards agriculture, and although it is obvious that agriculture has problems, we should not become detached from where our loaf of bread comes from. It is clear that agricultural production and the environment are intertwined, and finding constructive ways to make agricultural production more 'sustainable' is imperative. Research on the environment should be more inclusive of agro-ecosystems.

Having had the opportunity to work in and visit a number of countries, I have developed an appreciation for the amazing diversity of the planet, and the people and things that live on it. I think that particularly those of us who live in rich countries have a responsibility to be aware of what is going on in the rest of the world. In Australia we have such a fantastic standard of living and it is easy to forget that most of the world does not live like this. As an agricultural scientist, my overarching goals are to improve the compatibility of agriculture with ecological principles, concentrating in particular on the people and areas of the developing world.