Australian Farming Systems in a Changing World
Incremental Transformation of Agricultural Production: Searching for System Synergies
Presenter: Dr. John Kirkegaard, Chief Research Scientist, Agriculture and Food, CSIRO
About the Series: Hosted by the Systems Program in CSIRO’s Agriculture and Food Business Unit, this series explores the overarching theme “Australian Farming Systems in a Changing World”. Researchers and international experts will discuss research advances in their implications for the productivity, resilience and sustainability of Australia’s agricultural production systems at a time when they face a confluence of environmental and socioeconomic pressures.
Presentation Abstract: Throughout history, few individual technologies have been singularly transformational in improving sustainable agricultural productivity. Rather, step changes in productivity have come only when combinations of technologies, often a mix of old and new, synergise within a farming system. This realisation has important implications for the way we organise and conduct research to better capitalise on new science and technologies to gain real impact on farm. In the end while organisational structures can help, it behoves all of us to be thinking and mixing with colleagues who work on topics and at scales beyond those of our specific expertise as they may hold the key to realising the benefits of our specific idea. In his presentation Dr. John Kirkegaard will reflect upon some examples from his own teams and those of international colleagues where genuine “G x E x M” approaches to research have led to significant and potentially transformational impact. The intent is to stimulate discussion about the potential to better envisage and capture of the future G x E x M opportunities to meet the productivity challenges of a climate-constrained world.
About the presenter: Dr John Kirkegaard FAA is a Chief Research Scientist with 35 years of experience in farming systems research. He has led numerous national and international teams researching many aspects of dryland farming systems, with the National Water Use Efficiency (2013) and Dual-purpose Canola (2021) projects attracting CSIRO Medals for impact from science. In recent years he has championed projects designed to capture benefits from the synergies between individual management and genetic innovations on farms. He has published 200 refereed journal papers and is a regular speaker at forums ranging from regional GRDC Updates to International Symposia. Numerous awards highlight his ability to communicate impactful outcomes from his research teams which inevitably include farmers and advisors. He was Deputy Chair of the International Global Wheat Initiative’s Expert Working Group on Agronomy, and is a current member of the Global Council for Innovation in Rapeseed and Canola. John has supervised and mentored many young agronomists, scientists, Postdocs and PhDs throughout his career and was recently awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Agriculture at Kansas State University and will spend 6 months in 2026 embedded in the KSU Agronomy Department with his host Dr Romulo Lollato to explore application of system synergy thinking to the extensive dryland wheat production system of the US Great Plains.
This webinar series is moderated by Frank Sperling, Senior Principal Research Scientist, A&F, CSIRO.