Andrew Polkinghorne

Andrew has been at the forefront of improving the productivity and profitability of farm businesses all his working life. Working with difficult soils and improving technical practices has been part of this journey along with applying the relevant research to broadacre farming and sharing this information with his peers.

As one of the leaders in the Eyre Peninsula Liquid Fertilizer Buying Group, over a 20-year period, he has helped to facilitate the transition from granular to liquid fertilizers for farmers who operate on highly calcareous soils – and to purchase the fertilizer as a bulk package and obtain attractive pricing as a result. The savings to growers over that period have been in the order of $5.8 million.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Business (Agricultural Management) and a Diploma in Farm Management (Hons) both from Marcus Oldham College. Andrew has been a farmer for over 40 years, and in that time, has worked as a Farm Consultant, a Rural Financial Counsellor, and for three years, was the General Manager of Farm Services at the University of Adelaide's Roseworthy Campus.

He has an active interest in research and development. He is currently a trustee of the South Australian Grain Industry Trust (SAGIT) and a board member of Agriculture Research and Innovation Eyre Peninsula (AIREP). He is a director of the grain shipping company T-Ports Pty Ltd.

Andrew was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2023 to study how farmers use fluid fertilizers on calcareous soils in their farming systems. He will visit Israel, Belgium, Netherlands, England, Canada, and the USA.

He will learn about alternative forms of fluid phosphorous, logistics, storage systems, application systems, manufacturing systems, farmer use patterns, and environmental benefits. This will inform how Australian farmers use these technologies in the future, especially on calcareous soils.