Dr Pieter Badenhorst is a Senior Research Scientist in Molecular Plant Breeding of Agriculture Victoria. Pieter is a DairyBio project leader and leads field-based research activities in high energy forages and the establishment of new ways to measure forage plant performance using field-based forage phenomics platforms.

Pieter is originally from South Africa, has on-farm practical experience including in western Victoria and has a PhD from La Trobe University in plant molecular biology. His primary role with Agriculture Victoria has been in the development and application of new technologies in plant breeding to allow for the development of new pasture plants to provide more productive, nutritious and persistent pastures through:

• the development and delivery of an integrated forage phenomics platform that allows for semi-automated, non-destructive yield estimation of over 270,000 precision-planted forage plants on a weekly basis;
• the development and delivery of high-impact traits such as improved forage quality in forage grasses including perennial ryegrass and tall fescue;
• implementing a commercial-ready molecular breeding strategy for forages that integrates elite populations, genome editing, and novel endophytes;
• the design of optimised designer endophyte-grass associations for use in pasture breeding; and
• the delivery of molecular genetic technologies to pasture plant breeding programs and companies.

Pieter has co-authored 15 peer reviewed journal articles and co-supervises four PhD students (one from DairyFeedbase and three from DairyBio).

Pieter has participated in the following research activities:

• Participant and project leader in DairyBio (2016-2021), leading field-based research activities in high energy forages and the establishment of a field-based forage phenomics platform integrating engineering with advanced plant biology;
• Participant in the Dairy Futures Cooperative Research Centre (2010-2017), leading field-based research activities in high energy forages and the establishment of a field-based forage phenomics platform;
• Participant in the Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre (2003-2010), leading field-based research activities in high energy forages.

Pieter has been nominated for and/or awarded the following awards:

• Victorian Young Achiever Awards (2015) Semi-Finalist – BASF Science and Technology Award
• Victorian Young Achiever Awards (2015) Finalist – Academy Graphics Regional Achiever Award
• Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources Achievement Award (2016) for leading research in Victoria towards a range of more resilient and higher-yielding crops
• Scholarship awarded to be part of the Australian Rural Leadership Program course 25 (2018-2019).