Edward Charmley

BSc (University of Aberdeen), PhD (University of Reading)

Ed Charmley is a ruminant nutritionist and livestock production specialist. Ed comes from a farming background in the UK and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Aberdeen and a PhD from The Grassland Research Institute near Reading. After immigrating to Canada, he specialised in forage utilisation from both grazed and conserved herbage. He worked for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in the Maritime provinces on understanding forage use in the diet to optimise animal performance and beef quality. In 2005, Ed moved to Australia to join CSIRO Livestock Industries in Rockhampton where he established a program of work in extensive beef production covering the sub-tropical rangelands and savannas. In 2010, following the closure of the Rendel Laboratory, Ed relocated to Townsville where he established a livestock team and revived the Lansdown Research Station for field research. Ed has a strong track record in extending discovery science to applied situations to improve economic and environmental sustainability of beef enterprises. He combines inclusive leadership with a broad knowledge of the industry he serves and a readiness to adapt to change in research culture, innovative technologies and industry realities.

In his role as research scientist, he has jointly secured more than $30 million of external funding in the field of greenhouse gas abatement, ruminant feed efficiency and digital solutions for the northern beef industry. In these fields, he delivers industry impact through awareness and adoption of new production methods and practices. His research efforts resulted in the Australian government implementing a 24% reduction in livestock greenhouse gas emissions for the national inventory. His team developed measurement techniques that are now used to quantify emissions from extensive grazing systems globally. The facilities at Lansdown Research Station are well known for benchmarking enteric emissions using the only open circuit respiration chambers in northern Australia. Ed has been instrumental in the establishment of the Livestock Productivity Partnership between CSIRO, Meat & Livestock Australia, the University of New England and NSW Department of Primary Industries to improve the efficiency of beef production systems.

Ed leads a program within the Livestock Productivity Partnership and is an inclusive leader who is a valued mentor to many scientists. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed papers with an h-index of 23. He sits on the Northern Australia Beef Research Council, is an associate editor for the Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge and an Adjunct Professor with James Cook University.

In recognition of his contribution to the beef industry of northern Australia, through research and leadership, the Australian Association of Animal Sciences is pleased to enrol Dr Ed Charmley as a Fellow.