Agriculture research
With more than one hundred years of continuous scientific research and as the State's largest provider of public sector research, the Science and Research Division of NSW DPI is well-placed to provide cutting-edge research to ensure the continued production of safe and healthy food, sustain a livelihood for NSW's primary producers and the communities they support, improve environmental outcomes, and, assist primary producers manage the challenges ahead.
Key research
Find out about the likely impacts of climate change on agriculture.
Primary industries are a major user of the developed water resources in NSW, and manage 76% of the land.
Key infrastructure
Primary Industries Science & Research investment is focused on key centres, which are strategically located across NSW and linked with the industries and communities that co-invest in their R&D.
Projects
NSW DPI undertakes projects aimed at increasing the profitability, sustainability and adaptability of the agricultural sector.
Partnerships and alliances
Our scientists develop linkages with stakeholders to identify and prioritise areas of research and develop partnerships with other research providers, e.g. universities, other government departments, the CSIRO and funding agencies.
Research units
NSW DPI scientists have been ranked in the top 1% of world research institutions in agricultural science, and plant and animal science. Their agricultural research is focussed in the following areas:
| Science and Research Branch | Research focus, projects and scientists |
| Productivity and Food Security |
Farming Systems (North) |
| Biosecurity Research |
Forest Health Research |
| Climate and Water Research |
Water in Primary Industries |
| Research Operations | Diagnostic and analytical services Biometricians Scientific collections |
| Science Strategy and Planning |
Examines investment and options to achieve sound management of the primary industries' R&D potfolio |
Latest agricultural science news
- 05 Nov 2009Delaying rice waterMarginally lower rice yield achieved by delaying permanent water has resulted in an 11 per cent advantage in water productivity, compared to yield from conventional irrigation treatment in a Yanco trial.
- 05 Nov 2009EMAI upgrade tenders close in DecemberTenders are out for the project to upgrade laboratories at Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI), Camden and will close on December 10.
- 05 Nov 2009Brilliance in a tin shed at DaretonA replanting program at Dareton Primary Industries Institute has established five hectares of new navel oranges, young planted blocks that will provide a resource for revenue, trial and grower extension activities.
- 05 Nov 2009Bad oil hits first slickFraudulently labelled olive oils have been removed from supermarkets shelves, after a successful first time court action.
- 27 Oct 2009Orange livestock researcher’s invention wins TV awardIndustry & Investment NSW (I&I NSW) Director-General, Dr Richard Sheldrake, today congratulated Orange Agricultural Institute livestock researcher, Steve Semple, on his win last week in the ABC TV New Inventors program.
- 12 Oct 2009Stocking rate 25 pc higher in EverGraze trialAn Industry & Investment (I&I) NSW research trial near Orange will highlight a 20-paddock rotation grazing treatment which achieved a stocking rate 25 per cent higher than traditional set stocking.
- 07 Oct 2009Sydney hosts plant genomics workshopAustralias top agricultural geneticists will meet tomorrow in Sydney to examine progress in unlocking the secret of plant genetics, debate the outcomes and plan future research directions. Around 20 NSW Agricultural Genomics Centre (NSWAGC) researchers will gather in Sydney on 8 October for a genomics workshop.