Dr Hayley Norman
Senior Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader
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Biography
Dr Hayley Norman is an agricultural scientist who is passionate about working with industry to achieve profitable and environmentally positive mixed farming and pastoral systems. After gaining a PhD in the reproductive ecology of annual legumes from the University of Western Australia, Hayley moved to CSIRO in 2000 to conduct research in the Sustainable Grazing of Saline Lands Program. She developed an interest in the use of drought and salt tolerant native shrubs to improve profitability of livestock systems and enhance ecosystem function. Hayley conducts feedbase research to optimise the ability of the farming system to meet the year-round nutritional requirements of livestock and complements a profitable cropping system. She enjoys working in multidisciplinary teams and collaborates with researchers from universities, state agencies, leading farmers, tree nurseries and consultants. Hayley leads a diverse team with expertise in crop and pasture agronomy, livestock nutrition, plant physiology, soil science and farming systems modelling. She is the Chair of the WA Soil and Land Conservation Council and has leadership or advisory roles in the WA Livestock Research Council, WA Crawford Fund, UWA Institute of Agriculture and WA Agriculture Research Collaboration. Hayley is an associate editor for the British Grasslands Journal - Grass and Forage Science and an Adjunct Associate Professor at Murdoch University.
Hayley leads research to improve forages, livestock production and develop resilient farming systems. She utilises hr skills in traditional agronomy, plant ecology, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and utilises the ‘nutritional wisdom’ of sheep to identify superior forage plants. She led the commercialisation of AnamekaTM saltbush in 2014, an Australian native shrub selected for higher nutritional value and palatability. To date, >6.5 million have been planted by producers across Australia. She works with legume specialists to identify pasture legumes that have higher feeding value and ensure they are safe for livestock. Her team are working to develop national NIRS calibrations for all pasture and shrub species within the Australian feedbase, and methods to predict diet selection, diet quality and methane from sheep and cattle faecal samples. Hayley's team manage the CSIRO ruminant nutrition facility at Floreat, characterising the feeding value and methane implications of feeds and additives. Hayley enjoys participatory research and has worked with farmers, universities and research agencies across southern Australia, Iraq, Syria, Tibet AR and Afghanistan.
Other Interests
Research Interests
• Mixed farming systems that are profitable and environmentally positive.
• Domestication and selection of perennial shrubs and annual legumes with a focus on improving farm profitability through higher nutritional value and relative palatability.
• Use of shrubs to provide shade and nutrients to assist animals to manage heat loads during reproduction in summer and increase survival of lambs through shelter in winter.
• Ruminant production systems for saline and arid landscapes, with projects across Australia, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.
• Novel methods to measure the nutritional value of forage plants within livestock production systems, diet selection and animal performance.
• Development of a broad NIRS calibrations to predict nutritional value of all pasture plants within the Australian feedbase. Ongoing development of NIRS to predict methane emissions from forages and diet selection using cattle faeces.
• Seed dormancy and reproductive strategies of annual pasture plants in dry environments with the aim of improving annual legume persistence within mixed farming systems.
• Working with farmers in Australia and internationally to simultaneously improve profitability, welfare and environmental outcomes.
Professional Areas
- • Working with farmers in Australia and internationally to simultaneously improve profitability, welfare and environmental outcomes.
- • Domestication of drought-tolerant perennial shrubs to improve profitability and resilience of farming systems
- • Seed dormancy and persistence mechanisms of annual pasture plants in dry environments. Utilising annual legumes as break crops within farming systems.
- • Ruminant production systems for marginal landscapes, focussing on in salinity and aridity with research experience in Australia, Iraq, Syria Afghanistan and China
- • Nutritional value of forage plants within livestock production systems, diet selection and animal performance
- • Development of Near Infrared Spectroscopy methods to predict nutritional value of forages and animal performance
Current Roles
-
Project leader
Transformational Feedbase (with Meat and Livestock Australia, Carbon Select and DPIRD) -
Global Methane Hub, University of California Davis
Lead research in the development of faecal NIRS calibrations to predict methane -
Project co-leader
Near Infrared Spectroscopy calibrations for the Australian feedbase (with Meat and Livestock Australia and NSWDPI) -
Project leader
No more gaps with superrior shrub systems (with Meat and Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation) -
Component leader
The impact of shade and shelter on sheep reproduction and welfare (with Meat and Livestock Australia, UWA, Murdoch University and NSWDPI) -
Team Leader
CSIRO Western Farming Systems -
Project leader
Anameka shrub with annual legumes to reduce impact of drought (DAFF, Carbon Select and DPIRD)
Academic Qualifications
-
1995
BSc (Agric) Hons
University of Western Australia -
2002
PhD (Distinction)
University of Western Australia -
2021
Company Directors Course
Australian Institute of Company Directors
Professional Experiences
-
2020-2022
Chair
WA Soil and Land Conservation Council -
2016-continuing
Committee member (executive)
WA Livestock Research Council -
2018-continuing
Committee member
Crawford Fund, WA -
2016-continuing
Associate Editor
Grass and Forage Science Journal
Achievements and Awards
-
2019-2024
Chair and Deputy Chair of WA Soil and Land Conservation Council (Ministerial advisory)
Government of Western Australia -
2015-2015
Shortlisted, Australian Innovation Challenge
Shell -
2014-2014
Commercialised and trademarked Anameka saltbush
CSIRO -
2019-2019
Commercialised ‘SeaKiss’ saltbush
Moojapin Foods -
2013-2013
Eureka Award
Enrich team, CRCFFI
Attachments
Related links
Publications
ORCID 0000-0002-2660-9573
We have publications by Dr Hayley Norman