Institute for Agriculture, Climate and the Environment

10/09/2026

𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐃𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐎𝐰𝐞𝐧 ⭐️

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ?
Kirsty's research focuses on managing root-lesion nematodes in cereal and pulse crops, helping growers address hidden threats below the soil surface.

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛?
Kirsty is part of the GRDC-funded Soilborne Diseases Initiative, a national collaboration tackling the $1.71 billion annual impact of soilborne diseases on the Australian grains industry. She leads the Queensland team from UniSQ and QDPI, as well as the national nematology research network.

𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟?
Soilborne diseases and plant-parasitic nematodes often go unnoticed but can cause significant yield losses. This research is helping growers identify and manage these hidden enemies through practical, sustainable solutions. 🌾

𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑆𝑄?
Located in Toowoomba, UniSQ works closely with industry partners and grain growers across one of Australia's most productive agricultural regions, ensuring research delivers real on-farm impact.

𝐴 𝑓𝑢𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐾𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑦!
She's happiest in her veggie garden, has finally cracked the secret to growing parsnips, and is still chasing the perfect Romanesco!

University of Southern Queensland - Australia

30/08/2026

Last Thursday, we were at the Hermitage Schools Science Competition Awards Day and Ag Science Expo in Warwick! 🌱

More than 350 students stopped by the UniSQ display to learn about crop disease, crop health, agriculture and environmental science.

It was a great day meeting young people who are curious about agriculture and the environment, and showing them some of the research happening right here in our region.

Who knows, we might have met a few future scientists, agronomists and environmental researchers along the way!

University of Southern Queensland - Australia

27/08/2026

🌱 𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧-𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬

Toowoomba campus to be exact! We're here and looking at research across agriculture, climate, environment, crops, livestock, regional communities and more.

We work with industry, schools, community groups and not-for-profits to turn research into practical outcomes.

If you want to connect, find out what we’re researching or explore how we might work together, come and have a chat with us.

https://www.unisq.edu.au/research/institutes-centres/institute-for-agriculture-climate-and-the-environment

26/08/2026

🌱 𝙴𝚡𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚄𝚗𝚒𝚂𝚀’𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑!

Our Plant Growth Laboratory in Toowoomba has undergone a major upgrade, creating a state-of-the-art controlled environment facility where researchers can investigate how plants respond to heat, drought, pests and disease.

The new growth chambers allow researchers to recreate different climates, seasons and stress conditions. Supporting research across crop health, climate resilience, plant physiology and controlled environment agriculture!

A fantastic addition to UniSQ’s research capability and another example of the strength of agriculture and climate research being delivered from regional Queensland.

Well done team Ag & Environment!

https://www.unisq.edu.au/news/2026/08/plant-growth-lab

University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) researchers will be able to recreate a range of environmental conditions to investigate how plants respond to heat, drought, pests and diseases following a $500,000 upgrade to the University’s Plant Growth Laboratory in Toowoomba.

14/08/2026

Open Day | Toowoomba | 15 August 2026 | 9am - 1pm

We’ll be at the Agriculture and Environment Flagship tent in the Quad. Right near the John Deere tractor 👩‍🌾🚜🧑‍🌾

COME AND SEE US and talk all things research + tour the Centre for Crop Health and Centre for Agricultural Engineering 🔬

09/08/2026

🌦️ 𝑬𝒍 𝑵𝒊ñ𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 — 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏.

The SOI remains deeply negative, pointing to below-average rainfall across much of eastern Australia through August–October.

But some intense El Niño events can have a less severe drought impact, with longer-range forecasts now trending closer to normal rainfall.

🌧️ The next MJO pulse around mid-August could also bring some rainfall relief.

👉 See what our researchers are saying by clicking the link in the comments

University of Southern Queensland - Australia
Northern Australia Climate Program

03/08/2026

🔬 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿: 𝗗𝗿 𝗨𝘄𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 🔬

This month, we're shining a spotlight on Dr Uwe Grewer, Research Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems.

𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑 𝙵𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜
Uwe is a researcher in agricultural development specialising in bio-economic modelling. His research combines crop modelling and economics to help farmers make better decisions under uncertain seasonal and climate conditions. A link to current PhD offers with Uwe can be found in the 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀!

𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚓𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚜
Uwe develops decision-support tools that assist farmers and agronomists during pre-season planning. The tool “Agricultural Risk Management of Crop Rotations” allows farmers to compare the likely performance of diverse cropping strategies under local conditions: https://www.armonline.com.au/ra.

𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜
Farmers make critical decisions in highly uncertain environments. Uwe's research provides practical, evidence-based tools that help reduce risk, improve profitability, and support sustainable farming systems.

𝙸𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜
"𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. My goal is to provide farmers with practical tools that help them make confident decisions under uncertainty."

𝙵𝚞𝚗 𝙵𝚊𝚌𝚝
Uwe grew up in Germany's Westphalia region, where average farms are only 40 hectares, rainfall is often more of a challenge than drought, and pigs frequently outnumber people. 🐷



University of Southern Queensland - Australia

21/07/2026

Have you checked out UniSQ Research Week yet?

There are heaps of events for staff, industry partners and the wider community, so there's something for everyone.

Have a look through the program and register for anything that catches your eye... especially the Agriculture, Climate and Environment sessions. Totally not biased. 🔬🌱

Check it out and register here 👇

https://www.unisq.edu.au/research/graduate-research-school/events/2026/august/research-week

University of Southern Queensland - Australia

14/07/2026

Sound the BELL! 🛎️
Leading UniSQ researchers Dr Kirsty Owen, Professor Surya Bhattarai and Professor Ben Lyons joined UniSQ students at the GRDC Grains Research Update in Bell, QLD, connecting with industry and sharing the latest in grains research.

Learn more: https://www.unisq.edu.au/research/institutes-centres/institute-for-agriculture-climate-and-the-environment

Grains Research and Development Corporation
University of Southern Queensland - Australia

01/06/2026

Starting the week with a little wisdom and a lot of innovation!

IACE welcomed the Men for All Seasons from St Thomas More's Parish, Toowoomba for a tour of our Agricultural Science and Engineering Precinct, where they met leading scientists and research students in climate, crop health, agricultural systems andagricultural engineering.

Among the visitors was Peter Pemberton, an Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Lecturer at DDIAE in 1968, now known as UniSQ.

A fantastic two hours spent hosting 37 local grandfathers and sharing innovation across generations.

University of Southern Queensland - Australia