Provocations Public Lecture Series - Optimising yield, growth and use of the '5th quarter' for Australian agricultural food access and market security
EVENT STARTS: Nov 5, 2025 7:00 pm
EVENT ENDS:
Provocations lecture & soft launch of the Agriculture Innovation Program
Join us for this special Provocations lecture and the soft launch of the Agricultural Innovation Program at the Gulbali Institute, led by Professor Jane Quinn.
Date: Wednesday, 5 November
Time: The event begins at 7:40 pm, with light refreshments served from 7:00 pm.
Cost: Free to attend.
Venue: CSU Riverina Playhouse, Wagga Wagga
Can’t make it in person? The lecture will also be live-streamed - simply select the live-stream ticket option when registering.
Optimising yield, growth and use of the '5th quarter' for Australian agricultural food access and market security
Abstract
Agricultural innovation and ‘ag tech’ are now words in common parlance in government, industry and academia. Whilst frequently spoken, how are advances in technologies, including machine learning and AI, feed additives for livestock, and other recent or rediscovered innovations, helping to drive increased profitability, market access, consumer confidence and food security for Australian industries?
In this talk, Professor Quinn will investigate current assumptions about agricultural innovation, review work undertaken on valorisation and quality assurance of the ‘5th quarter’, interrogate how data is driving decisions and agricultural goals for success, and consider how innovation across the broader agricultural sector is helping secure our food future for the 21st century and beyond. This talk will cover work undertaken at Charles Sturt University and its collaborative partnerships as well as considering the broader context of the agricultural sector as a key pillar of the Australian economy.
Professor Jane Quinn
With more than three and a half decades in academic research, Jane’s career has spanned toxins to trade access, genetics to Average Daily Gain, and impacts of disease, management and performance in multiple species and systems including rodents, chickens, kangaroos, horses, sheep and cattle. Jane’s work has focused on improving animal and human outcomes, whether that be through improved farming practices, the use of animals to understand human health conditions or optimising health and welfare for livestock production. She has investigated pasture species with toxic profiles and their impacts on livestock health and performance, use of feed additives in multiple species using in-vitro and in-vivo approaches, the optimisation of health and performance in intensive beef systems as well as the impacts of production systems on meat quality outcomes and consumer acceptance. With a portfolio of work that spans the academic-industry continuum, her current work investigates the scaling and use of the systemic byproducts of animal production to increase yield and economic value, drive quality assurance processes, minimise disease through early intervention, and to meet industry and consumer demands for high-quality, ethically produced agricultural products in Australia and worldwide.
The Provocations Public Lecture is co-hosted by the Royal Society of New South Wales (Western Branch) and Charles Sturt University.