Meet our Network Partners

Geoff graduated in 1982 from the University of Queensland with an Agricultural Science Honours degree, also being awarded the Bell Medal for best undergraduate research project. He spent the next 40 years directly involved in all aspects of intensive animal production from milling and advising, to farm and animal ownership, as well as global commercial roles. In the early days, Geoff’s qualifications gave access to a Technical Sales role at a feedmilling group, where his love of linking nutritional solutions to production outcomes was born. During his 10 years in the feedmilling industry Geoff’s roles also included Site and Sales Manager for the Atherton Mill, and eventually Technical and Marketing manager for the wider group of 4 mills. Given feedmilling, both commercial and home-mix, is the vehicle for all final nutritional programs, this foundational 10 years has been critical in Geoff’s success in finding and delivering practical solutions to the everyday challenges faced by intensive production systems. The establishment of his Highspec Rural consulting business in 1992 allowed Geoff to specialize in pigs alone, in a fee for service Production and Nutrition role across 30 farms. Regional, ingredient, management, health, milling, shed design and genetic differences across those farming enterprises has given Geoff a unique experience base, that he brings to bear in finding the critical first few limiting factors on a farm, and then addressing those needs.  22 years later, that consulting role and the connections created, lead him and a group of his pig consultancy clients to purchase, refurbish and stock a 1,400 sow, farrow to finish operation in Northern NSW. Owning and managing a medium size swine enterprise has added yet another layer of holistic management skills to Geoff’s experience base. Staff, effluent, neighbours, trucks, maintenance, meat marketing and pig behavioural challenges have now been added to Geoff’s wide experience base. In 2018, the opportunity to broaden his role to micronutrition and across the international swine industry, saw Geoff divest his role in farming and consulting to take up a senior role with the largest Vitamin and Feed Additive company in the world being DSM (now DSM-Firmenich). That role quickly expanded to serving as the Swine Lead for DSM across the APAC region, with many trips into countries across Asia. The call back to being an independent consultant after 5.5 years of technical and commercial experience with a major global company became too strong, and in September 2023 Geoff again started his own private business. Geoff will provide holistic production, business and nutritional advice to Pork Producers and their supplier companies on a fee for service basis.  Education: B.Agr.Sci (hons) – 1982 – University of Queensland The Bell Medal for UQ’s best undergraduate agricultural research project for 1982   Work History: 1982 - 1992 Pac Feeds, 4 mill Stockfeed group. Technical Sales (3yr) Mill Manager (3yr) Group Nutritionist (2yr) Group Sales and Technical Manager (2yr)   1992 – 2018 Highspec Rural consulting – Swine Specialist, Nutrition and Production consulting Diet formulation Solution creation and implementation Production – Nutrition linkage and optimization Business and Personnel Training and Management Clarrich-Riverbend Swine Farming Project   2018 – 2023 Various roles within DSM’s Swine technical marketing group, including Regional Swine Technical Marketing Manager for APAC Farm Performance Optimization with Micronutrition Focus Sustainable and Business appropriate solutions for the APAC swine industries across all countries and markets. As DSM Manager of the Rivalea Research Alliance acted as the coordinator and co-author for projects covering: Lifetime vitamin nutrition from Breeding through to Sale Micronutrition which can boost immunity. Nutritional interventions to reduce emissions and improve sustainable farming practices. Front end research for Microbiome manipulation; unique pathways to reduce E.coli proliferation and improving Nitrogen retention within pig growth pathway   2023 – present Principal Consultant and Owner of Nutri-Swine Consulting, providing a fee for service offering to Swine producers and their suppliers, covering nutrition, production and business management practices.