Federal Council
Federal Council is charged with managing the national affairs and business of AAAS.
Members of the AAAS Federal Council
Matt Bekker
Matt Bekker is the Technical Manager for Lallemand Animal Nutrition in the Oceania region. Matt holds a Master’s Degree in Agriculture from the University of New England majoring in nutrition and physiology and is a registered animal scientist with the American Society of Animal Scientists.
He has extensive experience in the poultry, swine, beef and dairy industries working in both practical and research capacities. Matt has published work on gut health and performance health in broiler chickens, antioxidant effect on fertility of bulls, feed digestibility and gut health in the presence of protease and the role of copper for broiler intestinal integrity and performance. Matt’s current areas of interest include animal comfort, uninterrupted gut health for cattle and solutions to sustainable milk and meat production. Sustainability for the planet’s resources and welfare of the stock in our care are central to Matt’s ‘farmer led’ philosophy.
Matt runs a small beef cattle herd in Gympie, Queensland with his wife Sally and daughters Grace and Leisl. His own property is completely ‘off-grid’ running solar power and maximising natural rainfall catchment for pasture irrigation and stock water.
Sue Hatcher
Sue is the Director of Makin Outcomes, an independent research and development consultancy specialising in applied sheep genetics, reproduction and fibre metrology. Sue was recently made a fellow of the Australian Society of Animal Production and is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at CSU. Sue was previously Principal Research Scientist with NSW DPI in Orange and has 26 years of experience in scientific research and a proven track record of effective extension of research results to industry. Her research interests are diverse and include genetic improvement of wool production, wool quality and reproductive performance, wool processing, wool metrology and fibre identification, breeding ewe management, lamb and weaner survival and physiological and behavioural responses of sheep to wild dog predation.
Tom Keogh
Tom is an early career research fellow at the CSIRO in the Agriculture and Food business unit. He is currently working on a project funded by the Australian Government‘s Future Drought Fund called ’Decide and Thrive’. This project aims to find selection strategies that will be better prepare farmers for drought, allowing them to make more informed decisions to ensure rapid recovery post-drought. Prior to working at the CSIRO, Tom completed a PhD at Charles Sturt University investigating the constraints on lamb growth in intensive feeding systems. He used CT scanning of lambs to analyse energy transactions and changes to body composition throughout growth. Tom also has many years of experience working on commercial sheep and beef cattle farms based in Southern NSW.
Renata Tognelli
Renata is pursuing her PhD at the University of Melbourne. Her research project evaluates feeding strategies to reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminants. She works mainly with feed additives on dairy cows at Agriculture Victoria Research in Ellinbank. Renata holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences from the National University of Cordoba, Argentina, and a Master of Agricultural Sciences from the University of Western Australia. She has over seven years of professional experience advising dairy and livestock farming systems on productive and sustainable farming practices.
Di Mayberry
Di is a Senior Research Scientist with CSIRO in Brisbane and Past President of the AAAS Qld & NT Branch. She has a BSc (Agriculture) and PhD in ruminant nutrition, both from the University of Western Australia.
Di’s research combines experimental and modelling approaches to evaluate how changes to livestock production systems (from alternative feeding systems to changing climates) impact productivity, farmer livelihoods and the environment. She has 10-years experience working in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia.
Di has worked on sheep, beef and dairy production systems in Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, China, India and Tanzania.
Lucy Watt
Lucy is a Research Scientist at CSIRO, Agriculture & Food with a strong background in crop/pasture-livestock systems and ruminant nutrition. Lucy conducted her Honours project at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Pasture Dairy Centre, Michigan USA in 2014, before obtaining her PhD at Charles Sturt University in 2019 where she investigated a second-generation of annual pasture legumes for use in sheep production systems in Mediterranean environments of southern Australia. Her recent research at CSIRO has focused on using whole-farm systems modelling approaches to evaluate the role of novel forages in mixed crop-livestock systems, including their potential role to improve animal health and welfare. Having grown up on a crop-livestock property in central west NSW, Lucy enjoys engaging with industry and delivering science with impact. Lucy is currently Co-President of the QLD & NT branch after stepping up from her previous role as Secretary, which she held for the last four years. Outside of her work-life, Lucy enjoys gardening, pottery and spending time with her young family.
Cara Wilson
Cara is a Research Officer at Central Queensland University. Cara obtained her PhD from Charles Sturt University in 2020, in which she investigated the epidemiology and impacts of hydatid disease (Echinococcus granulosus) on the Australian beef industry. Cara’s main research interests are animal health and welfare within livestock production systems, and using technology to monitor and manage these. Cara has a passion for conducting research that provides practical and sustainable outcomes to industry. Cara is currently Co-President of the QLD & NT branch and a branch representative to the Federal Council.
Charles Rikard-Bell
Charles is responsible for the commercialisation of intellectual property as Manager, Commercialisation and Research Impact for Australasian Pork Research Institute Ltd (APRIL). Charles worked in UK, Belgium and USA as a pig geneticist before returning to Australia to work with a multinational animal health company for 11 years, holding technical, sales and marketing roles in Australia and Asia Pacific. Charles gained his PhD in nutrition and biology through the CRC for an Internationally Competitive Pork Industry.
Jo Newton
Jo (OAM) is a research scientist with Agriculture Victoria. Since completing a PhD in livestock genetics at the University of New England, Jo’s work has focused on the value of better herd improvement decisions on farm. A recipient of an Endeavour Postdoctoral Fellowship, Jo spent 6 months as a visiting scientist in Ireland developing a tool to explore the benefits of genomic testing on dairy, beef and sheep farms. Jo has a history of advocacy and involvement in the wider agricultural community, particularly in supporting young agriculturalists. Jo is the President of the Victorian and Tasmanian branch of AAAS.
