Past lectures
You can view or listen to past lectures via the links below
Event_
Annual RD Watt Lecture
Commemorating our first lecture in agriculture
The Sydney Institute of Agriculture's annual RD Watt lecture proudly commemorates the first lecture delivered to University of Sydney agriculture students in March 1911 by Australia’s first Professor and Dean of Agriculture, Sir Robert Dickie Watt.
Our 2025 RD Watt lecture will be held on Wednesday 12 March in the Great Hall at the University of Sydney.
Topic: It’s time to stop and think about the soil
Date: Wednesday 12 March, 2025
Time: 6.00pm to 8.30pm, including drinks and canapes
Venue: The Great Hall, Science Road, The University of Sydney
RSVP: By Wednesday 5 March, 2025. Register here.
Although there is no charge to attend this event, registration is essential.
2025: It’s time to stop and think about the soil
Have you ever stopped to think about soil? Beyond its beauty and wonderful smell, soil supports 59% of all biodiversity and plays a vital role in producing more than 97% of the world’s food supply.
For more than eight decades, academics at The University of Sydney have been at the forefront of pioneering new ways to understand, measure, and monitor soil. Their groundbreaking work has not only transformed our perceptions of soil but has also revolutionised how we educate others about its importance. The contributions of these educators and researchers, alongside the ongoing efforts of those who continue to advocate for soil, are essential to securing the future of this invaluable resource.
The 2025 RD Watt Lecture will honour the University of Sydney's extraordinary legacy in soil science, which spans over eighty years. We are excited to feature four distinguished speakers— all alumni of the University— who are leading new advances in soil research, management and education. These experts are driving efforts to improve agriculture, secure soil resources for Australia, our Pacific neighbours, and beyond, while also tackling emerging challenges. During the lecture, we will celebrate their exceptional achievements and explore the future of soil science, ensuring the continued security of soil for generations to come.
Our speakers
Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Professor of Digital Agriculture & Soil Science, University of Sydney
Our host, Professor Alex McBratney FAA, an ARC Laureate Fellow, is making significant strides in the fields of soil science and digital agriculture. With a passion for understanding the global significance of soil and advancing agricultural practices, his current work focuses on pioneering the concept of soil security, an essential area for sustaining soil for humanity and planetary functioning. At the forefront of innovation, Professor McBratney is also spearheading efforts to translate his research to commercialize cutting-edge AgTech solutions within the university. His research emphasizes the development of technologies for measuring soil water, soil carbon, and agricultural product quality - critical components in enhancing productivity and sustainability in agriculture and landscape management.
Senior Staff Engineer. Emerging Technologies, John Deere USA
Dr Broughton Boydell’s academic interests in soil variability and digital agriculture started at the University of Sydney in the mid 1990’s and have continued through his working life. Over the last 25 years Broughton has been farming near Moree with his wife Natalie and working for John Deere in the Advanced Engineering group. Broughton also cofounded PCT AgCloud and T3RRA with friends following his PhD in soil variability. During these decades, measuring soil quality and seeking to help better manage and preserve soil have been constant themes.
Principal Technical Advisor Resource Recovery, NSW Environment Protection Authority
Dr Julie Cattle is the Principal Technical Advisor Resource Recovery for the NSW Environment Protection Authority. In this role Julie oversees the technical aspects of land applying waste materials in NSW and coordinates research projects with partner organizations. She brings soil science expertise to distinguish bona fide recovery of waste as a soil amendment from broad acre waste disposal. Julie also worked for the EPA’s Science Branch on forensic analysis of environmental samples. Prior to this she worked for GHD as a contaminated sites consultant. Julie spent a year in France working for the Institute National Recherche Agronomie (INRA) Orléans researching the influence of redox potential on the mobility of trace elements in a seasonally saturated soil. She completed her BSc (Hons) and PhD in Soil Science at The University of Sydney studying Pb contamination of urban soil.
PhD Candidate, University of Sydney
Sandra Evangelista graduated with a BScAgr with First Class Honours in 2019 from the University of Sydney. She enjoyed working as a berry agronomist in the Northern Rivers and as a mushroom harvest team lead in Western Sydney before commencing her PhD in 2022, from which she is expected to graduate later this year. Her research focuses on quantifying Soil Security as part of a larger collaborative project titled ‘A Calculable Approach to Securing Australia’s Soil’, funded by the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship. She is currently a member of the secretariat for Aroura, the Global Soil Security Think Tank.
Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO Agriculture and Food
Dr Uta Stockmann is Team Leader of Prediction and Insight with CSIRO Agriculture and Food based in Canberra. She joined CSIRO in 2018, and prior worked as a Lecturer and Researcher in Soil landscape modelling at the University of Sydney. She is originally from Germany and completed a Masters level degree in the natural sciences before completing a PhD in Soil Science with the University of Sydney. Throughout her career, Dr Stockmann has examined the challenge of understanding the complex dynamics and the functioning of soil systems. Her fields of speciality include quantitative pedology, proximal soil sensing and digital soil mapping. Her current research interests comprise of using novel proximal soil sensing technologies to support rapid and cost-effective assessment of soil condition and function to improve i) decision-making in agriculture, ii) soil health assessments iii) natural resources accounting, iv) and land suitability assessments. Currently, Dr Stockmann is leading ACIAR funded work that contributes towards building soil resilience and adaptation to support sustainable agriculture in the South Pacific region amidst climate change; and is leading work under the DCCEEW funded National Soil Carbon Innovation Challenge to improve uptake of soil condition and function accounting and monitoring to meet sustainability goals in the agricultural sector.
RD Watt Lecture 2024: Development Agriculture: Nurturing International Partnerships
Past lectures
Our challenge for development agriculture is to contribute to equitably providing safe and nutritious food for 8.5 billion people by 2030.
Agriculture is the primary source of our food, fibre and bioenergy, and remains the key livelihood of most smallholder families in the developing world, including many of the world’s poorest.
Australia has been partnering with our regional neighbours to improve the productivity and sustainability of their agricultural systems, to increase food security and supply chain resilience. These activities also focus on topics that matter to Australian agriculture – biosecurity and food security. Our experienced speakers will explain how we punch above our weight in our contribution to development agriculture.
Hosted by Professor Daniel Tan, this year's RD Watt Lecture provided an appreciation of the key elements necessary to navigate through international development, with an emphasis on development agriculture.
Our speakers:
Dr James Quilty, Acting Chief Scientist, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
Development agriculture: partnerships critical for success
Dr Helen Scott-Orr AM PSM, NSW Coordinator, Crawford Fund
Biosecurity challenges in development agriculture
Professor David Guest AM, Professor of Plant Pathology and Chair in Horticulture, University of Sydney
The highs and lows of development agriculture
Dr Nerida Donovan, Plant Pathologist, NSW Department of Primary Industries
Facing the yellow dragon: managing biosecurity threats to citrus
Our challenge for modern agriculture now is to demonstrate our place in meeting increased demands at the farm level, under increasing land use, financial, and reduced labor pressure.
In NSW we are in now challenged by industry and governments to increase agricultural production by 30 billion dollars in regional revenue by the year 2030. This is a major challenge for the NSW community of landowners and primary producers if we make the changes to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. Our experienced speakers will explain how we can expect to reach this target.
Increasing sustainability in food and fibre production will make development sustainable against adverse effects to our environment. But, why is it necessary for development to be sustainable? And what does sustainability imply from a practical, farm point of view?
The 2023 RD Watt Lecture provided an appreciation of the key elements necessary to navigate through sustainability, with an emphasis on agricultural sustainability.
Host: Dr Turlough Guerin, CEO Landcare NSW Ltd
Speakers:
- Carmel Onions, National Director Agribusiness, Commonwealth Bank
Supporting Agriculture's journey in sustainability - a view from the Banking sector
- Dr Anthony Kachenko, General Manager - Production & Sustainability R&D, Hort Innovation
Horticulture's sustainability story - an emerging opportunity
- Assoc. Prof. Arunima Malik, Associate Professor in Sustainability, School of Physics, University of Sydney
Supply chain assessment of food systems
Food safety and security are critical for human wellbeing globally. In this year’s RD Watt Lecture, we celebrate research and agribusiness achievements in these areas. The reliable production of high quality and safe food has been front of mind for agricultural researchers at the University of Sydney ever since Robert Dickie Watt (1881-1965) delivered the first lecture in Agriculture at the University of Sydney in 1911.
The 2022 RD Watt Lecture commemorated progress in food safety and food security to which the University of Sydney has contributed for more than a century. We had four wonderful speakers – all University of Sydney graduates – who cover a range of agri-food research and agribusiness experiences and perspectives. We shared some of the achievements they have made and highlighted the directions that lie ahead for food safety and security.
Speakers:
- Distinguished Professor James Dale, AC, Leader, Banana Biotechnology Program, Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, Queensland University of Technology
Bananas: a major world food crop in crisis
- Lisa and Zoe Paisley, The Paisley Twins', Co-founders of Aggie Global
Aggie Global: using business to address food security
- Deon Mahoney, Head of Food Safety, International Fresh Produce Association - Australia-New Zealand
Food safety – securing our future
Animal agriculture is an important cornerstone of the University’s agricultural contribution to Australia’s food security and was celebrated at the 2021 RD Watt Lecture held on Wdnesday 16 June.
Hosted by Associate Professor Joy Becker and held in the The Great Hall, the annual event commemorated the significant achievements in animal production, health, and welfare – areas where the University of Sydney has contributed immensely for over 100 years.
The event featured four wonderful speakers covering a range of animal agricultural experiences and perspectives across different animal types and agricultural contexts.
It also shared a glimpse of the achievements we have made and highlighted the directions that lie ahead for the discipline.
Speakers:
- Emeritus Professor Frank Nicholas - Animal Genetics
The contribution to animal agriculture by University of Sydney agriculture graduates and their teachers
- Emeritus Professor Richard Whittington - Farm Animal Health
Animal production, endemic diseases and pandemics
- Dr Sabrina Lomax - Senior Lecturer in Livestock Behaviour and Welfare
Livestock welfare: securing the future of animal agriculture
- Hannah Plummer - Regenerative Farmer
Regenerative farming: working with nature for an abundant future
The University of Sydney has a long history of teaching and research in agricultural economics which we celebrated in the 2020 RD Watt lecture, Sydney University’s Contribution to Agricultural Economics.
When Keith Campbell was appointed Reader in Agricultural Economics by the University of Sydney in 1951, he became the first full-time academic in his field in Australia, and subsequently in 1956 became the first Australian Professor in Agricultural Economics.
The development of many of the fields of applied economics in Australia arose, directly or indirectly, out of the research conducted at the University of Sydney in agricultural economics, or as a result of the work undertaken by the students in agricultural economics produced by the University of Sydney.
Our panel of University of Sydney Alumni in agricultural economics and resource economics shared insights into their work, what they think the future holds for the Australian agricultural economy, and how Australia contributes to the global agricultural sector.
- Dr Brian Fisher, Former Dean of Agriculture & Managing Directory of BAEconomics
- Hannah Janson, Head of Insights at Rural Bank
- Gareth Aird, Senior Economist at Commonwealth Bank
- Shelly Anderson, Senior Analyst at NSW Department of Primary Industries
Hosted by Prof. Robyn McConchie
To celebrate International Women’s Day, and to commemorate our long history of agricultural education, research and outreach, we celebrated the diverse contributions at the 2019 Annual RD Watt lecture ‘Women in Agriculture’.
While not typically seen as the face of this industry, women play a vital role in enterprises and on farms to ensure the future of Australian agriculture continues to be innovative and productive.
Making up around 32 per cent of Australia’s agricultural workforce, women take on a range of roles on and off the land. From agribusiness and innovation to government policy and ethical governance, three female leaders who are all University of Sydney alumni joined us to shine a light on women in agriculture.
Explore one of our nation’s largest industries as our panel of University of Sydney alumni in agriculture share insights into their work, what they think the future holds for Australian agriculture and how women continue to be key contributors.
The lecture was followed by a Q&A panel hosted by Dr Angela Pattison.
Download the 2019 RD Watt lecture: Women in Agriculture (MP3, 26MB) or listen at right.
Download the 2019 RD Watt lecture slides: