Talking Ag Science

How can your research have impact?

Hear about what the media, government and industry want to know about your research, and when and how to talk to them.

How do you translate your work to be clear, simple, and accurate, especially for audiences who lack technical understanding?

Join us for a pub panel discussion and Q&A with:

• Greg Rummery, a founding owner/director of Outlook Ag & Walgett Shire Council Deputy Mayor
• Gordon Brownhill, director of Merrilong Pastoral Company  
• Ali Smith, journalist and podcast creator 

Where: Cotton Room, Tourist Hotel Narrabri

When: Tuesday 18 March, 5pm – 7pm
* Food and drinks can be purchased from the bar.

Organised by: Dr Rebecca Thistlethwaite, rebecca.thistlethwaite@sydney.edu.au

Supported by the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and Agrifutures Australia.

Moderated by Niall Byrne, Creative Director of Science in Public, www.scienceinpublic.com.au.

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Greg Rummery – Founding Owner/Director, Outlook Ag & Deputy Mayor, Walgett Shire Council 

In his role with Outlook Ag, Greg provides high-level agronomic agronomic services in North West NSW. He has more than 35 years’ experience in applied agronomy for dryland grain production and pasture systems. He graduated from the University of New England with a degree in Natural Resource Management and holds a graduate diploma in Ag Science from Charles Sturt University. In 2016, he was awarded the Brownhill Cup in recognition of innovation in farming practices that ensure sustainable, long-term productivity. Greg is Deputy Mayor of Walgett Shire Council. He operates a dryland farming business east of Walgett and a grazing enterprise at Cuttabri in partnership with his wife, Lyn, and son, Tom.

Gordon Brownhill – Director, Merrilong Pastoral Company

Gordon is joint managing director of his family farming business, Merrilong Pastoral Company (focused on dryland and irrigated cotton production), alongside his brother David and family on the Liverpool Plains. Gordon, 64, has worked on the family property since the age of 19. He has a strong passion for efficiency and sustainability in agriculture, leading him to become a pioneer in zero-till farming, implementing the ‘Ground Hog’, a winter crop planter able to plant though thick stubble and maintain excellent sub soil moisture. In the early 2000s, Gordon and David imported a ‘weed seeker’ spot sprayer which uses infrared technology to detect weeds, reducing chemical usage and lowering costs. Gordon has been involved in many local agricultural and community initiatives, promoting research in agriculture and ensuring the longevity of regional communities. In 1999, he stepped up as a co-founder of AMPS Agribusiness, a trusted agriculture reseller across North West NSW. AMPS created a research arm in 2005, which Gordon oversaw as chairman from 2010 to 2015.

Ali Smith – Journalist and podcast creator

Ali has a diverse background in the media industry, with experience in print, television, radio and podcasting. Ali is a senior journalist at The Courier newspaper in Narrabri and also writes for its sister publications. In 2023, Ali received the Country Press NSW Journalist of the Year award and, in 2022, the Rotary Club of Narrabri’s Pride of Workmanship Award. She is the co-creator of the podcast series Bush Wanderlust and was a producer/mentor on the Narrabri Shire youth podcast project – Good Talk, Great Mate, which won the RH Dougherty Award for excellence in communication at the 2024 Local Government Week Awards. Before Ali ‘traded the big smoke for the bush’, she worked as a producer with Channel 9 for more than a decade at the current affairs program 60 Minutes, breakfast show Today and as a researcher in the Canberra press gallery. She also enjoyed a blissful stint reporting for ABC radio in WA’s Kimberley region. When Ali isn’t travelling around the countryside writing stories, you’ll find her helping on a farm at Burren Junction where she lives with her partner Gus and much-loved calves.

Niall Byrne – Creative Director, Science in Public

Niall is a science writer and publicist based in Melbourne. The focus of his work is helping scientists bring their work into the public space through the media, events and festivals. 

He also guides science organisations in the development of communication strategies to reach their stakeholders, customers and the public.

Some highlights of his work include: 

• Story-telling and publicity for the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes (2004 to 2018), L’Oréal For Women in Science Fellowships (2007-2015), the Eureka Prizes (2003-2006; 2013-2015), and the Clunies Ross Foundation (1998-2004)
• Working with CERN on the Australian end of the Higgs boson discovery at the High Energy Physics Conference (2012)
• Conference director, 5th World Conference of Science Journalists in Melbourne in 2007, and the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers in 2009
• Development and management of the Fresh Science program (1998-present)
• A series of supplements for Nature (2003 to 2014)