Richard is the Executive Director of the Australian Farm Institute (AFI). The AFI is an independent policy research organisation whose objective is to enhance the economic and social wellbeing of farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia by conducting highly credible public policy research and promoting the outcomes to policy-makers and the wider community. The AFI is Australia’s only independent agricultural sector focused think tank.

Previous to this role Richard was Associate Professor of Agronomy and Farm Management at the University of Sydney and before that was a director of his families farming business in North West NSW. Richard is a non-executive director of the Grains Research and Development Corporation and sits on the Advisory Committee for CSIRO Agriculture and Food. He is a Nuffield scholar and was a director of Nuffield Australia.

Richard is a recognised leader in the Australian agricultural sector with a history of hands-on farm management, consulting, research and development, and governance roles. This career path has led to Richard being appointed as Executive Director of AFI, one of the most respected thought leadership roles in Australian agriculture.