Australian Almond Conference Program | Page 20

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Mark Skewes
Neale Bennett
Patrick H . Brown
Scott Wallace

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Mark Skewes

South Australian Research and Development Institute ( SARDI ) Irrigation trials – being more efficient with your water , Wednesday , Experts ’ Forum , 9.30am Mark has worked at Loxton Research Centre since 1988 , primarily in the field of irrigated crop management , including irrigation scheduling , and soil and plant water monitoring . In his time with SARDI , Mark has conducted research in a range of irrigated crops including citrus , vines , almonds , and in the last few years industrial hemp . He is currently the national coordinator for AgriFutures Australia ’ s Industrial Hemp Variety Trials program . Mark is part of the SARDI team establishing and monitoring trials at the Almond Centre of Excellence research orchard at Loxton . Mark also provides research support to a number of ABA projects , including carrying out an almond industry irrigation efficiency audit . Mark will provide an update on that project .

Neale Bennett

Grower and Almond Board of Australia Director Whole of Orchard Recycling panel , Tuesday , Experts ’ Forum , 2.45pm Neale is a fourth-generation horticulturist who is still farming the same land that was cleared by his ancestors in the early 1900 ’ s at Merbein , approximately 20km ’ s from Mildura in Victoria . He has worked in the horticulture field for 40 years . In 1992 , he started converting the 17 ha family property from vines ( dried fruit ) to almonds . This was completed by 2005 . Neale is also a current member of the Almond Board of Australia as one of the two Sunraysia Representatives . He also served as the Board Chair for 6 years .

Patrick H . Brown

University of California-Davis , Distinguished Professor Grow more with Less , Tuesday , Grand Stage , 10.45am Dr . Patrick Brown is the Professor of Plant Nutrition at the University of California , Davis - USA . He received his B . Sc . in 1984 from Adelaide University , Australia and Ph . D . from Cornell University , USA in 1988 . Dr . Brown has authored more than 220 scientific journal articles and numerous books and is among the highest cited experts in plant nutrition , biostimulants , boron , foliar fertilizers and horticulture . Dr . Brown is recognized globally as a leader in both basic and applied plant nutrition research with notable contributions to the function , transport and management of nickel and boron , and significant contributions to research on potassium , nitrogen , zinc , foliar fertilization , salinity and biostimulants . He has served as a member of numerous scientific and technical committees for governmental agencies including US-EPA , USDA , Californian Dept . Food and Ag and the International Standards Organization . Dr . Brown is a member of the IFA ’ s Science Panel for the Responsible Use of Fertilizers .

Scott Wallace

Growcom Hort360 Manager Benchmarking our Industry , Tuesday , Grand Stage , 11.30am Working for Growcom since mid 2003 Scott is the principle designer of the Growcom Hort360 Best Management Practice program and brings a wealth of experience in developing and delivering land , water , energy and environmental programs for improved productivity , business and stewardship outcomes .
20 2022 AUSTRALIAN ALMOND CONFERENCE