Works at: Hort Innovation

Position: Regional Extension Manager

Hi Adrian, thank you for taking the time to chat with us!

You recently joined Hort Innovation as a Regional Extension Manager. What does this role involve, and who do you primarily work with?

The Hort Innovation extension initiative supports project delivery partners enhance coordination, communication and application of research and development outcomes at both an industry and regional level. For growers, the new initiative will support business decision making and enhance on-farm practices through adoption of research and development from approximately 80 Hort Innovation project investments with extension components.

A team of six Regional Extension Managers (REMs) will manage Hort Innovation industry development and extension portfolio projects. The six REMs are regionally located across Australia covering 94 per cent of horticultural activity by employment and production value. Further REM information and extension team members contact details can be found on the Hort Innovation website. The links are below:

• Regional Extension Managers
• Extension – read about our new initiative

Can you please give us a brief overview of your background – what were you doing prior to joining Hort Innovation?

I am from a small place called Wemen, 40 kilometres from Robinvale in north-west Victoria. With a viticulture background, I started my career on my family’s vineyard surrounded by horticulture production including table grapes, dried fruit, almonds and vegetables.

In 2015, I moved to Wagga Wagga, New South Wales when I started as a Development Officer – Viticulture with the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI). I planned and delivered industry development and extension projects across 11 NSW wine growing regions. I enjoyed meeting growers, industry groups and working to improve wine-industry production systems through grower adoption of Research and Development outputs.

Your current role is focused on the South-East region, encompassing Bellingen through to Sydney basin, New South Wales south coast, central west NSW, Riverina and Shepparton. What is unique about these areas that you cover? 

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, industry development and extension workshops and industry events have been postponed, cancelled or held online. I look forward to being able to travel and getting to meet horticultural growers and industry participants from the South-East region. In my previous role with NSW DPI, I travelled across the whole South-East region and fully appreciate the diversity in climate, soils and production systems.

Regionally and grower segmentation are important considerations for successful extension and on-farm practice change, something I will develop within my project portfolio across the South-East.

What is your main focus at the moment? What are you working on?    

I manage Hort Innovation industry development and extension projects with some wonderful delivery partners across the turf, apple and pear, mushroom, table grape, processing tomato and almond industries.

Specific to the vegetable industry, I am the Program Manager of the Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection and VegNET – New South Wales projects. These are being delivered by Applied Horticultural Research and RM Consulting Group, and NSW Local Land Services (LLS) respectively.

Further details about these projects can be found below:

• Soil Wealth and ICP
• VegNET NSW – this includes resources from the first phase of the VegNET project, and project updates.

On 28 October, the Hort Innovation REMs will be delivering a webinar discussing segmentation and how to better identify and address project requirements for growers. Over 90 delivery partners of industry development and extension projects have been invited.

The Hort Innovation extension team is also working with other staff to design and implement the review and updating the Strategic Investment Plans for 2021 to 2026 for each industry. Further details will be announced regarding this process at a future date.

Looking ahead, what do you hope to achieve in the next 12 months?

Over the next 12 months, I look forward to implementing the strategic imperatives of the Hort Innovation extension team. In a nutshell, we aim to increase the on-ground impact of levy investments that helps growers develop their competitive edge. To do this, liaising with growers, industry groups, researchers and other stakeholders will be critical, and a challenge I look forward to.

Hort industry liaison within the South-East will identify cross-industry and regional issues. These insights will assist Hort Innovation investment opportunities of single industries and within cross-industry Hort Frontiers investments.

Further information on the Hort Innovation Extension team strategy at a glance can be found at the Hort Innovation website.

Catching up with… Hort Innovation Regional Extension Manager Adrian Englefield.

Finally, where can we keep up to date with Hort innovation’s activities and how can our growers get in touch?

Hort Innovation encourages all South-Eastern horticultural producers and industry representatives to contact myself to discuss project investments concepts or ideas for Hort Innovation industry support.

Please feel free to contact me directly on 0427 143 709 or email adrian.englefield@horticulture.com.au.

If you have a general query for Hort Innovation, questions can be submitted via our website.