NSW DPI Research Economists Directory

Most Research Economists in the NSW Department of Primary Industries work in the Branches of the Department’s Science and Research Division.

The work plan of Research Economists is oriented towards the objectives of their 'home' Branch. In addition there are CRC and industry funded positions within the same structure, usually working on specific projects.

Some key themes of the research and extensions activities undertaken by Research Economists in NSW DPI include:

• analyses of the economic, environmental and social impacts of alternative technologies and resource management strategies for major production systems in the agricultural, fisheries and forestry industries of NSW;
• provision of economic information relevant to decision-making by the clients of NSW DPI;
• assistance in identifying priorities for research and extension resources within the NSW DPI.

Dr. J.D. Mullen, Research Leader, Economics Coordination and Evaluation, assists in the coordination of economics research across the Branches of the Science and Research Division and in the professional development and assessment of the Research Economists.

Economic policy work is undertaken within the Strategy, Policy and Communication Division of NSW DPI.

International calls: Omit the "0" from the area code and use country code 61.

Lloyd Davies, Extensive Livestock Industries Development Unit, Division of Agriculture and Fisheries
Bob Farquharson, Systems Research Branch & Industry Analysis Branch
Garry Griffith, Rural Innovation Branch
Robyn Hean, Resources Research Branch
Rohan Jayasuriya, Weeds Research Unit and CRC for Australian Weed Management
Randall Jones, Weeds Research Unit and CRC for Australian Weed Management
Salahadin Khairo, Pastures and Rangelands Unit, Systems Research Branch
John Mullen, Research Leader, Economics Coordination and Evaluation, Science and Research Division
Tom Nordblom, Resources Research Branch and CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity
Fiona Scott, Northern Farming Systems Unit, Systems Research Branch
Rajinder Pal Singh, Southern Farming Systems Unit, Systems Research Branch

Lloyd Davies 

Qualifications: WDA (Hons 1971), B.Ag.Ec.(Hons) (1975, UNE), Grad. Dip. Mngt (1997), MBA (1998, Newcastle).
Joined NSW DPI: 1971 as trainee.
Present position: Economist, Extensive Livestock Industries Development, Division of Agriculture and Fisheries
Location: Tocal Agricultural Centre, Paterson
Contact Details: Phone: 02 4939 8947 Fax: 02 4939 8950
Email: lloyd.davies@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Current Research Program and Time Commitments:

• Co-ordinating farm management information delivery within NSW Department of Primary Industries (10%)
• Farm business management training of farmers and farm advisors (20%)
• Economics of the NSW beef and sheep Industries. Analysis of regional performance, assisting industries in developing benchmarking programs, analysis of farm level impacts of new technology, drought recovery issues. (30%)
• Development of software to aid farmers make management decisions (15%)
• Evaluation, occasionally to the level of detail of a benefit cost analysis, of farm level impacts of new technologies in the beef and sheep industries. (20%)
• Writing farm management literature for farmers. (10%)

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Robert (Bob) Farquharson

Qualifications: B Ag Econ (UNE 1976), M Econ (UNE 1991), M Sc (Ag and Resource Econ) (UC Davis 1998), PhD (UNE 2004)
Joined NSW DPI: 1987
Present position: Economist, Systems Research Branch & Industry Analysis Branch
Location: Tamworth Agricultural Institute
Contact Details: Phone 02-6763 1194 Fax: 02-6763 1222
Email: bob.farquharson@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Current research program and time commitments:

The purpose of this position is primarily to assess the economic impact of alternative agricultural technologies and resource management strategies for sustainable cropping and grazing systems in northern NSW. The work undertaken within the Systems Research Branch of the Science and Research Division includes:

• analysing the impacts of alternative technologies and economic conditions in the broadacre industries of northern NSW;
• providing economic information on resource use, production and marketing relevant to the Farming Systems Program and to the clients of NSW Agriculture;
• and assisting in identifying priorities for research and extension resources within the Farming Systems Program, particularly in northern NSW.

The work undertaken within the Industry Analysis Branch of the Strategy, Policy and Communication Division includes: combining economic, policy and social analysis, to provide important advice on the economic and social implications of natural resource management policy and planning options to catchment based boards and committees; and helping these groups quantify the trade-offs between environmental, economic and social outcomes.

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Garry Griffith 

Qualifications: B.Ag.Ec.(Hons)(1972, UNE); M.Ec.(1978, Macquarie); PhD (1980, Guelph)
Joined NSW DPI: 1968
Present Position: Research Economist, Rural Innovation Branch
Location: Armidale Beef Industry Centre
Contact Details: Phone: 02-6770 1826 Fax: 02-6770 1830
Email: garry.griffith@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Professional Activities: Associate Editor, AJARE; Editorial Board, AAR
Past President of AARES (1999)
Adjunct Professor, School of Economics, UNE

Current Research Program and Time Commitments:

• Development of modelling frameworks for measuring the benefits from investments in R&D and from promotion and policy changes and for doing benefit/cost analyses. I cover both farm models and industry models and both cost-reduction and quality-enhancing technologies (30%).
• Assessment of how the benefits of new technologies, promotion or policy changes are shared between producers, processors and consumers. I have an ongoing time commitment to managing the Economic Impact Assessment Project of the Beef CRC, and other research linkages with both the Sheep and Weeds CRC's (50%)
• As a Principal Research Scientist, I have about 15% of my time set aside for technical advice to other Research Economists, contributions to the wider profession and supervision of postgraduate students.
• Provision of economic advice to the Rural Innovation Branch (5%)

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Robyn Hean

Qualifications: B.Ec., Hons (1992, UTas), PhD (2002, UNE)
Joined NSW DPI: September 1999
Present Position: Economist, Resources Research Branch
Location: Beef Industry Centre of Excellence, Armidale
Contact Points: Phone: 02-6770 1838  Fax: 02-6770 1830
Email: robyn.hean@dpi.nsw.gov.au 

Current Research Program and Time Commitments:

• Providing general economic advice, including paddock-level economic analysis of integrating trees into agricultural production systems in salinity-hazard areas of NSW (30%).
• Farm-level economic analysis of agroforestry options for dryland-salinity mitigation identified for consideration by the CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity (10%).
• Developing catchment-level modelling frameworks for measuring the benefits and costs of alternative plant-based management approaches to dryland salinity (30%).
• Assessing the economics of agroforestry systems in the presence of carbon-sequestration credit payments (30%).

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Rohan Jayasuriya

Qualifications: B.Sc. Hons (1984), M.Phil. (1989), PhD (1999, La Trobe)
Joined NSW DPI: 1998
Present Position: Research Economist in the Weeds Research Unit and CRC for Australian Weed Management
Location: Orange Agricultural Institute
Contact Details: Phone: 02-6391 3826 Fax: 02-6391 3975
Email: rohan.jayasuriya@dpi.nsw.gov.au 

Current Research Program and Time Commitments:

• Development of a decision-support system for determining the optimal response strategies for new weed incursion risks in the Australian grains industry. The principal aim of the project is to develop a decision-support framework that can assist policy decisions in determining an economically optimal response when a new weed incursion is detected in the grains industry. (95%)
• To provide economic support for CRC for Irrigation Futures project on “Irrigation Sustainability Challenge” (5%)

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Randall Jones

Qualifications: B. Fin. Admin. (1983); Dip. Ag. Econ. (1983); M. Ec. (1991) (UNE)
Joined NSW DPI: 1983
Present Position: Senior Research Scientist in the Weeds Research Unit and CRC for Australian Weed Management
Location: Orange Agricultural Institute
Contact Details: Phone: 02-6391 3960 Fax: 02-6391 3975
Email: randall.jones@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Current Research Program and Time Commitments:

• Economic research into the impact of specific target weeds in annual cropping systems and perennial pastures ecosystems in southern Australia.
• Determination of the economic benefits from weed control technologies being developed by the CRC.
• The research involves an integrated modelling framework which will measure the impact of technologies at the farm and market levels using a combination of farm, industry and economic surplus models. The farm-level benefits from weed management technologies are assessed through the development of dynamic bioeconomic models of cropping and pasture systems.
• Economic research of sustainable grazing systems in the perennial pastures ecosystems in southern Australia.

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Salahadin Khairo

Qualifications: B Ag Econ (1990 AUA) GraDip. ResEcon. (1997 UNE), M. Econ (1999, UNE)
Joined NSW DPI: 2003
Present Position: Economist, Pastures and Rangelands Unit
Location: Trangie Agricultural Research Centre
Contact Details: Phone: 02 6880 8023 Fax: 02 6888 7201
Email: salahadin.khairo@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Current Research Program and Time Commitments

• Identify and evaluate the economic impacts of alternative management issues and constraints on the productivity and profitability of farming systems in the Central West and the Western Division of NSW:

• Evaluate the economic impact of precision farming in profitability of farming systems in the Western Plains region of Central West (10%)
• Evaluate the economic impact of seasonal climate forecast on the profitability of farming systems in the Western Division of NSW (10%)
• Evaluate the economic impact of introducing terminal sires, exotic breeds and changing wool prices on the profitability and flock structure of pastoral enterprises in the Western Division of NSW (15%)
• Evaluate the economic impact of alternative landscape design in mixed farming systems on biodiversity conservation outcomes (20%)

• Evaluate the economic, environmental and social RD & E projects of NSW DPI, and the establishment and evaluation of incentives for sustainable land use in the Western Division of NSW (25%)
• Provide farm management information such as enterprise gross margins, whole farm budgets, contract rates, agfacts, etc. (20%)

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John Mullen

Qualifications: B.Ag. Ec(1972); M. Ec. (1978) (UNE); PhD (1985, Texas A&M)
Joined NSW DPI: 1968
Present Position: Principal Research Scientist and Research Leader, Economics Coordination and Evaluation, Science and Research Division
Location: Orange
Contact Points: Phone: 02-6391 3608 Fax: 02-6391 3650
Email: john.mullen@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Professional Activities: Adjunct Professor, University of Sydney and Charles Sturt University; President, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.

Current Research Program and Time Commitments:

• As Research Leader, Economics Coordination and Evaluation provide leadership:

•  in economics research in NSW DPI with a particular focus on resource management in key production systems through the coordination of work plans, staff assessment, professional development and mentoring activities;
• in the evaluation of significant areas of investment in research and extensions by NSW DPI  (50%).

• The economics of agricultural research and extension in Australia including (20%):

•  The distribution of the benefits from R&D;
•  Productivity growth in agriculture;
•  Returns from agricultural R&D;
•  Expenditure on R&D and extension in Australia;
•  Project evaluation.

• Economic issues related to the use of seasonal climate forecasts (30%)

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Tom Nordblom

Qualifications: BSc (1969) Ag Mgmt, Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo, California, MSc (1972), PhD (1982), Ag & Resource Econ, Oregon State, Corvallis.
Joined NSW DPI: 2002
Present Position: Senior Research Scientist, Salinity & Hydrology Program, Resources Research Branch and CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity
Location: Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute
Contact Details: 02 -6938 1627 Fax: 02-6938 1809
Email: tom.nordblom@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Personal website: http://www.nordblom.bigpondhosting.com

Professional Activities: Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, Charles Sturt University University (CSU).  Member, EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (NSW DPI & CSU).

Current Research Program and Time Commitments

Socio-economic evaluation of water and salinity management options as part of a wider interest in developing strengths in the Department for quantifying the ‘triple-bottom-line’ consequences of changes in natural resource management.   The water and salinity work requires contributions toward understanding in several areas:  

1.    Hydrology and biology of salinisation                                                  10%

Linking hydrological, salinisation and biologic processes under different land uses, as precursors to economic analysis, requires close liaison with hydrologists associated with DPI, CSIRO, NSW DNR and others.  

2.    Farm-level land-use decision analysis                                                  30%

Decisions on land use by farmers, motivated by maximising long-term whole-farm incomes, are simulated for main Farm Types in catchments.  For each Farm Type, multiple runs of a customised farm-level model, constrained to each of a sample of water-yield and salt-load (W,S) targets for some future date (say 30 years hence), identify the associated maximum Net Present Values (NPVs).  The resulting (NPV,S,W) data, representing the configurations of each Farm Type, become the inputs for a catchment-level model.  

3.   Catchment-level consequences & costs of farm level decisions             40%

The objective is maximizing aggregate catchment NPV when constrained to each of several W,S target levels to estimate the minimum aggregate opportunity costs to farms in the catchment for shifts from current to new levels of output in the future.  I am leading development of NSW DPI’s quantitative modelling capacity to integrate catchment-level physical and economic links between farmers’ land use choices and down-stream demand for water and water quality. The aim is to assist in the most efficient economic prioritisation of actions to meet the social goals of efficiency, equity and environmental sustainability. 

4.   Links with down-stream economic damages / demands                          20%

This work aims to provide a missing link in the development of effective markets for water quality.

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Fiona Scott

Qualifications: B.Ag. Ec., Hons (UNE 1993)
Joined NSW DPI: 1993
Present Position: Research Economist, Systems Research Branch
Location: Tamworth Agricultural Institute
Contact Details: Phone 02-6763 1156 Fax: 02-6763 1222
Email: fiona.scott@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Current Research Program and Time Commitments:

• Research into the farm level financial consequences of alternative farming systems and resource conservation strategies to enable industry to select farming systems that are both more profitable and which also meet long term natural resource management goals. Major projects include "Agronomy of new perennials" (Salinity CRC), Border Rivers-Gwydir Grain & Graze (GRDC, LWA, AWI, MLA and Gwydir CMA), "Farming systems research for crop diversification in Australian and Cambodia (ACIAR), and "Eastern Farming Systems" (GRDC). (80%)
• Contribution to NSW DPI research evaluations such as the impact of conservation farming on northern NSW (10%)
• Provision of extension information, both to NSW Department of Primary Industries staff and clients. Some of this work (including crop gross margin budgets) is available on the NSW Department of Primary Industries web site. (10%)

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Rajinder Pal Singh

Qualifications: B. Sc. Agric. Honours (1977), M.Sc. Ag Econ (1981), PhD. (1993 India)
Joined NSW DPI: 1998
Present Position: Economist, Southern Farming Systems Unit, Systems Research Branch.
Location: Yanco Agricultural Institute
Contact Details: Phone: 02-6951 2618 Fax: 02-6955 7580
Email: rajinder.pal.singh@dpi.nsw.gov.au    

Current Research Program and Time Commitments:

• Conduct economic analyses of the on-farm implications of options within Land and Water Management Plans.
• Economic evaluation of alternative irrigation technologies, layouts and production techniques to measure water use efficiency of different irrigated farming systems
• Work with CRC (Rice) to evaluate the impact of new technologies, water reforms proposals, other natural resource issues and measurement of returns to CRC investment on R&D.
• Analyse the economics of switching from furrow to high tech irrigation systems within extensive horticultural industries.
• Provide economic information to farmers and NSW Department of Primary Industries staff including Farm Enterprise Budgets and Whole Farm Budgets for the southern irrigated region.

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Glossary (links are provided where appropriate)

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