Marrying into an Australian farming family gives him insight into the constraints facing Australian farmers.

Time spent with DPI in Deniliquin exposed Iain to the needs and constraints that irrigation farmers face and to the complexities of water management and policy. Iain’s focus is applied research to deliver productive farming systems that maintain agricultural and natural resources.

Completing his PhD at the Australian National University improved Iain’s research skills and his ability to communicate his research to a range of audiences, as well as expanding his network of research contacts. Iain has brought these skills to his research into agricultural resources management on his return to DPI.

Major outcomes include:

• Managing salinity with perennial shrubs
• Identifying soil suitable to grow rice and measuring crop water use with EM methods
• Remote sensing of understory forage in woodlands
• Measuring soil carbon sequestrated under crops