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.
Digital AgTech is emerging everywhere—on conference stages, in glossy strategy documents, and in the daily routines of farms preparing for a more volatile future. We are told that better data, smarter sensors, and faster algorithms can help agriculture meet its biggest challenges. That the promise is real: fewer wasted inputs, earlier pest and disease warnings, tighter water and nitrogen management, and clearer evidence for markets and policy. The question is not whether technology matters; it is whether we design it to deliver outcomes that matter.
Digital tools will be judged by what they change, not how impressive they look. In an era of climate instability, ecological decline, and nutritional insecurity, the future of farming depends on a higher standard: When AgTech meets these challenges and more, it has the potential to become the platform for progress at scale.
| Date: | Thursday 12 March, 2026 |
| Time: | 6.00pm to 8.30pm, including drinks and canapes |
| Venue: | |
| Registration: | Free, registration is essential by Wednesday 4 March |
Innovation Broker, Cotton Research and Development Corporation
Beyond the Hype: Digital AgTech Through an Industry Lens
Dr Nicola Cottee is a Senior Innovation Broker with the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC), where she oversees a portfolio of strategic research investments that support the sustainability, resilience and competitiveness of the Australian cotton industry. Nicola brings experience across research, stewardship, regulation and policy, positioning her to drive coordinated, industry‑wide action on greenhouse gas emissions reduction and water quality improvement. Her work focuses on translating complex science into credible, defensible and practical outcomes that support industry decision‑making in an increasingly challenging environmental and policy landscape. Nicola’s early‑career research on heat stress tolerance in cotton sparked a long‑standing interest in how changing environments influence agricultural systems. This foundation continues to shape her work today, guided by a firm belief that collective action is critical to achieving meaningful, long‑term outcomes for the cotton growers and their communities.
Chief Science Officer, BioScout
From Research to Reality: Building AgTech That Actually Gets Adopted
Dr Michelle Demers is the Head of Science at BioScout, where she leads the integration of scientific research with technical and commercial innovation to deliver real-world solutions for Australian agriculture, human health, and biosecurity. Dr Demers spearheaded the creation of Australia’s first national broadacre disease surveillance network—a world-first initiative combining pathology, robotics, and AI to provide actionable field intelligence, now being replicated internationally. Her career spans plant breeding and pathology research across Canada and Australia, with a strong focus on commercialisation and advancing food security. She earned her PhD in plant pathology and bioinformatics from the University of Sydney, where she also co-founded the AgTech startup Carapac during her doctoral studies. She has completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors program and remains a passionate advocate for translating academic research into industry impact.
Research Fellow in Soil Carbon, University of Sydney
Bridging Research into Commercialisation: My Story
Wartini Ng is a research fellow in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences within the University of Sydney. She received a BS degree with cum laude in environmental engineering from University of California Riverside in USA, and PhD degree in soil science from University of Sydney. Her doctoral research focused on the integration of novel data analytics and proximal sensing to analyse soil conditions. She explored the use of machine learning methods, including deep learning to improve the prediction accuracies of soil properties in large spectral databases.
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 honours the University of Sydney's extraordinary legacy in soil science, which spans over eighty years. We featured 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.
Host: Professor Alex McBratney AM FAA, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow, Professor of Digital Agriculture & Soil Science, University of Sydney
Speakers:
- Dr Broughton Boydell, Senior Staff Engineer. Emerging Technologies, John Deere USA
- Dr Julie Cattle, Principal Technical Advisor Resource Recovery, NSW Environment Protection Authority
- Sandra Evangelista, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney
- Dr Uta Stockmann, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO Agriculture and Food
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:
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:
Bananas: a major world food crop in crisis
Aggie Global: using business to address food security
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:
The contribution to animal agriculture by University of Sydney agriculture graduates and their teachers
Animal production, endemic diseases and pandemics
Livestock welfare: securing the future of animal agriculture
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.
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:
