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A researcher tends to plants in a glasshouse

Sustainable agrifood

Partner with us to build sustainable food and agricultural systems

Sustainable production of nutritious food is essential to feed a growing global population.

The emergence of the bioeconomy is expected to have a transformative effect on future materials and food systems, improving agricultural sustainability, decreasing carbon emissions and contributing to a circular economy. UQ researchers are driving the science, technology and innovations needed to create sustainable agriculture and food systems for future generations. 

With a focus on innovation and industry outcomes, and access to high-tech labs and farming facilities, we closely work with our partners in government, agriculture, and the food and nutrition sectors to build new economic, environmental, and social opportunities at home and abroad.

A researcher administering medication to goats

What we offer

Partnering with us provides access to the following benefits.

World-leading research

From crop and horticultural science to animal health, food science and agribusiness, our experts are leaders in their field making a real-world impact.

Lab scale to field work

From our Gatton farms to high-tech molecular laboratories, food processing and plant futures facilities, UQ infrastructure and facilities underpins our research excellence.

Collaborating for success

We leverage our collaborations with industry, government and research to build multi-disciplinary solutions that create change.

Our capabilities

We deliver transformative outcomes and solutions for our government and industry partners, underpinned by world-leading expertise.

A person tends to plants

Plants and soil

  • Agronomy and farming systems
  • Crop science
  • Horticulture
  • Plant science
  • Biotechnology
  • Soil health
  • Soil management
  • Soil water and nutrient cycling
  • - Ecohydrological modelling
  • - Breeding, genetics and genomics
  • Ecology
  • Sustainability
  • Pest and weed management
  • Pathogen and disease management
  • Vertical farming and protected cropping
A researcher inspects cattle feed in a trough

Animals

  • Animal health
  • Animal welfare
  • Production and livestock
  • Aquaculture
  • Parasitology
  • Breeding and genetics
  • Animal management
  • Equine science
  • Wildlife
  • Resilience to heat and drought
Grains ready to go under the microscope in a lab

Food science and technology

  • Food safety and microbiology
  • Innovative foods
  • New product development
  • Sensory analysis
  • Flavour chemistry
  • Preservation
  • Food processing
  • Nutrition
  • Sustainable food production
Male and female researchers stand in a crop field

Agribusiness

  • Economics
  • Development
  • Rural community resilience
  • Food systems
  • Whole of supply chain management
  • Gender inclusion
  • Practise change
A female researcher using an ipad on a farm with cattle and solar-powered equipment in the background

Digital agriculture

  • Crop modelling and decision support
  • Crop forecasting
  • Genomics and genetics
  • Sensors and automation
  • Supply chain and markets
  • UAV and remote sensing technologies
  • Controlled environments
Researchers examine food products in a lab

Bioeconomy

  • Industrial biotechnology
  • Bio-based processes
  • Food waste and circularity
  • Marine bioproducts

Partner with us

Keen to know more or have an idea for a partnership? Contact our industry specialist.

Dr Alisa Becker
Associate Director (Environment and Agrifood)
Strategic Partnerships - Government and Industry
Email a.becker@uq.edu.au

Two staff working together in a commercial greenhouse

Facilities and infrastructure

Our world-class research facilities include:

  • UQ Gatton Farms, located on the Gatton campus 80 kilometres west of Brisbane. The farm covers 1068 hectares and includes a research dairy, horticultural fields, post-harvest facilities, greenhouses and CRAVO, Digi field platform, crop research and veterinary science facilities.
  • Plant Futures Facility, a world-leading research facility that underpins excellence and innovation in plant science and sustainable ecosystems for global impact. The facility contains an array of highly technical controlled environment rooms, capable of replicating a variety of environmental conditions to simulate natural conditions.
  • Elkhorn Facility, Long Pocket, which includes food sensory and tissue culture labs 
  • Hermitage Research Facility - a shared site with Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
  • Maroochy Research Facility - a shared site with Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries 
  • PC2-certified molecular laboratories

Research stories

See our research in action, learn more about ongoing projects and read our success stories.

A group of cows on a farm

Tree-eating cows may help save climate

Methane emissions from cattle could soon be reduced, thanks to a new research testing the effects of a native Australian tree on cows’ diets.
Professor Robert Henry

The complexity of sugarcane genetics uncovered

Researchers have unravelled the mystery of sugarcane genetics, finding the crop’s genome is three times the size of the human genome and more complex.
Garlic cloves on a table

Say goodbye to garlic breath with odour-free black garlic

Garlic breath could be a thing of the past, thanks to a UQ collaboration helping promote odourless black garlic in mainstream Australia.