Presenters

Rob Harrod completed his Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree from the University of Melbourne and later undertook a Post GraduateDiploma in Environmental Management from La Trobe University.

Rob has worked for Elders Rural Services as an agronomist for 37 years, based in Albury NSW where he currently holds the position ofAgronomy Lead. During this time, he has worked closely with clients to help maximise profitable productivity, mainly concentrating in broadacre cropping and pasture/animal production. The region Rob works in stretches from 1000 mm average annual rainfall in the hills and valleys to the South-East at of Albury to 400 mm on the plains to the North- West.

Prior to joining Elders, Rob worked for the VictorianDepartment of Agriculture as a pasture specialist extension officer for 6 years where he gained a valuable grounding working with farmers to help solve local agronomic limiting factors such as plant nutrition and soil compaction.

As the traditional range of chemical farming inputs becomes more restricted and the consequences of climate change that demand closer scrutiny of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration, Rob has begun to  look more closely at what the ever-growing range of biostimulants has to offer farmers in the area he covers. Rob believes there are significant challenges ahead regarding a) how these biostimulant products are accurately assessed, b) the development of predictive tools for the Australian environment and soil types and c) how to standardise and regulate their label claims.

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