DIFFERENTLY

After moving to Canterbury, I attended Lincoln University, where I completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science. After completing my bachelor's degree, I began working for PGG Wrightson Seeds in the Animal Nutrition and Farm Systems team as a Technician. I am now a Nutrition Scientist with PGG Wrightson Seeds and am responsible for running livestock and farm systems experiments to investigate how farmers can optimise their productivity using various forages and grazing managements. As a part of my postgraduate studies, I am working on an exciting project focusing on forages which may provide benefits for human health via animal products. A key part of this study is examining the relationship between forages with unique polyphenolic profiles and how these may alter the products produced by animals grazing them. This involves taking milk samples from ewes grazing different forages. Specific polyphenolic compounds are known to be beneficial to human health through various anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and antioxidant applications. We aim to demonstrate that by feeding forages rich in these beneficial polyphenolics, we can produce milk that is also rich in these polyphenolics, with potential applications to enhance human health. Both conventional and novel forages with unique polyphenolic profiles have been investigated. In addition to the forage effect on milk composition, the productivity and practicality of being able to incorporate these forages into a farming system is also being evaluated. I am excited to be part of a project that will not only have potential benefits for human health but also could have significant benefits for the sheep industry in New Zealand

Leader of the Future Agro Ecosystems theme. I joined Lincoln University (New Zealand) as Professor in 2017, where I head the Lincoln University Centre of Excellence “Future Productive Landscapes Design and direct the Lincoln University “Pastoral Livestock Production Lab”. I also serve as CAU Honorary Professor of Grasslands Science and IMAU Honorary Professor of Grasslands Ecology. I am a member of the Forum of the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub (FAO), Livestock, Environment and Development, (LEAD-FAO), Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture (USA), Knowledge Sharing Network for Animal Nutritionists (FAO), American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) and American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS), as well as the American Forage and Grassland Council (AFGC). I am a board member of and one of the original founders of the International Scientific Committee for Animal sourced foods and Livestock: Ethics, Planet and Health ALEPH. I chaired the International Scientific Advisory Group for International Symposium of Nutrition of Herbivores and serve as Continuous Counsellor on the Rangelands Congress Committee and Scientific & Technical Committee Advisor for the Rangelands Stewardship Council. In New Zealand I am currently working on applied nutritional ecology of foraging, and grazing management, as well as Agricultural systems design. I also work with domesticated and wild ruminants in different grasslands and rangelands of the world. Finally, I keep close to a broader view of agricultural systems, working on the continuum of soil, plant, animal, population dynamics/ human health, as well as how phyto-chemistry and culture links the palates of humans and herbivores with landscapes.