Our Team
Shaughn Morgan
CEO
Shaughn Morgan joins FarmLink Research with extensive experience in community and government engagement, policy development and implementation with extensive experience working for ‘not for profit’ organisations. Shaughn has held senior positions with the Law Society of NSW, NSW Farmers Association, AGL Energy and dairy organisations, Dairy Connect and eastAUSmilk. At NSW Farmers and Dairy Connect, he was CEO and co-CEO at eastAUSmilk. Shaughn has Master’s degrees in Law and Arts. He has practiced at law firm Clayton Utz and was senior ministerial adviser for the NSW Attorney General. He is currently a member of the Law Society’s Rural Issues Committee and a Councillor of Sydney University’s Dairy Research Foundation. He is looking forward to building upon the organisation’s solid foundation and working with the FarmLink Board and staff to consolidate the RD&E that FarmLink extensively undertakes in strong collaboration with its members and stakeholders.
Julianne Cole
Finance Manager
Julianne Cole joined FarmLink in January 2019. Over the past four years she has undertaken both administration and finance roles to support the growing organisation.
Julianne has a Certificate IV in both Accounting & Business Administration and is currently Finance Manager for the organisation.
Chris Williams
Farm Manager
After leaving school in 1976, Chris worked as a farmhand, and completed an automotive engineering course.
Chris began shearing in the late 1970s while working at Temora Gold Mine, before joining a local wool store in the mid 1980s, and driving dump trucks at the mine.
In the early 1990s, Chris returned to shearing for five years, before joining Nixon’s Rural Service. Here he was responsible for mobile crutching, dipping, lamb marking and mulesing. In 2000, Chris purchased his own farm, leased a number of other farms and went contract sowing and harvesting.
After selling his farm in 2015, Chris joined FarmLink, as the TAIC Farm Manager.
Chris Sims
Digital Communications Manager
Hailing from a third-generation dairy farming family, Chris has hands-on experience in a number of rural industries. He has lived and worked in some of the country's most productive agricultural regions.
Chris is a qualified graphic designer and horticulturalist.
Over his design career, Chris has worked as a studio manager and art director for some of Australia's leading advertising agencies. He has worked across a broad range of disciplines, from national advertising campaigns, annual reports and brochures, through to FMCG packaging, brand development, video production, website design and signage.
Rob Martin
Knowledge Broker
SNSW Innovation Hub
Rob came to Farmlink Research in May 2022 from a production background.
Rob has a Bachelor of Science Agriculture and post-graduate Animal Science and Ag Business Management Masters from CSU.
Rob’s production career was in mixed farming, including 24 years in farm management for a mix of private and corporate-owned operations from the Liverpool Ranges to central Victoria.
Having mixed in both agricultural production and academic circles, Rob has developed a broad range of skills, and can speak the many languages required to effectively communicate with the diverse range of stakeholders in the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.
Henry Bosman
TAIC Site Manager
Henry Bosman joined FarmLink Research in September 2023, having had previous farming roles in SA, QLD, and NSW.
Henry has a Diploma in Agriculture (Gwebi College) and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAFE).
Henry and his family originate from Zimbabwe where they operated a large scale commercial agricultural business incorporating broadacre summer and winter cropping strengthened by irrigation, export horticulture and beef production.
Arriving in Australia in 2003, he has gained experience in agri-business and various enterprises and systems, in both extensive and intensive operations, plus involvement with a diverse range of people enhancing his ability to communicate simply and clearly.
Henry is passionate about conservation/zero tillage systems and where/how they can be incorporated into the challenging weather cycles.
James Holding
Operations Manager
James Holding joined Farmlink Research in January 2019. James grew up on a mixed farming property near Harden before moving to Armidale to complete a Bachelor of Rural Science at the University of New England. James has previously worked at CSIRO, Delta Agribusiness and on his family’s farm. James is passionate about crop agronomy and finding new ways to overcome the many challenges we face in farming. Some of the projects that James is involved in include intercropping, crop diseases, soil acidity and soil carbon work. A highlight of the job for James is the opportunity to collaborate with both farmers and researchers to find better ways of doing what we currently do.
Sarah Clarry
Project Communications Manager
Sarah Clarry is an agricultural scientist and communications specialist with extensive experience writing about agricultural RD&E for growers, producers and industry. She graduated in Journalism from the University of Canberra and holds postgraduate qualifications in rural science and agronomy through the University of New England. Sarah looks after communications and engagement on several FarmLink projects, including FutureSOILS, and Climate Services for Agriculture, a FDF-funded project in partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO. Sarah worked in crop research before moving into R&D communications, and has produced communications for organisations such as GRDC, MLA and Cotton Australia, as well as the federal and state departments of agriculture.
Caroline Keeton
Research & Extension Officer
Caroline grew up on a small hobby farm in Kyabram, Victoria where her passion for agriculture first began. Her parents had moved from England to Australia some years prior to forge a career in the dairy industry and it wasn’t long before she was following in their footsteps.
Caroline went on to study a Bachelor of Agriculture (General Production) followed by a Bachelor of Science with Honours (Agronomy) at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales. Over the course of her studies, Caroline discovered a new interest and aptitude for plant production and cropping. Her Honours project followed, looking at chickpea pollination in cool ambient temperatures and as a result a growing interest in agricultural research.
After completing her studies, Caroline was looking for practical experience in broadacre cropping and the opportunity to learn from industry professionals. Caroline spent two years on the Lawson Grains Graduate program where she gained valuable hands-on experience. Caroline then continued with Lawson Grains as a Farm Hand before travelling to England for an extended holiday.
Caroline has a keen interest in crop agronomy and is also passionate about improving farm sustainability and combatting issues such as chemical resistance.
Shahnaj Parvin
Research & Extension Officer
Dr. Shahnaj Parvin joined FarmLink research in October 2023. Shahnaj is an agriculturist with expertise in crop agronomy, physiology and soil science related disciplines.
Shahnaj has a BSc Agriculture (Hons) and MSc Agronomy from the Bangladesh Agricultural University, along with a second MSc in Soil Science from Copenhagen University, Denmark and Georg-August University, Germany.
Shahnaj also holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne. She investigated the effect of elevated CO2, drought and heat waves on legume performance. Her studies on C and N dynamics within the plant systems in a high CO2 environment have been published in a range of peer-reviewed academic journals.
Most recently, Shahnaj worked as a research fellow at Southern Cross University and Charles Sturt University within the Soil CRC project ‘Plant-based solutions to improve rhizosphere modification processes’, where she managed multi-location and multi-season long-term trial sites in NSW.
Shahnaj is thrilled to have the chance to serve as a research and extension officer for FarmLink. Working with a variety of research teams, executives, growers, and partners will enable her to build a larger network in the future.
Tim Sweeny
Technical Officer
Tim Sweeny joined Farmlink Research in October 2021.
Tim has a Bachelor of Agriculture Science from Charles Sturt University. Tim shares his time between FarmLink and his mixed family farming operation at Bimbi, NSW. Prior to joining Farmlink Research, Tim spent 11 years working in the corporate agronomy space, along with running trials across southern NSW.
Tim enjoys the diversity and range of activities that working with Farmlink offers, with no two days being the same.
Christine Roberts
Administration & Project Support Officer
Christine Roberts joined FarmLink in September 2023 as an Administration & Project Support Officer.
She immigrated from Germany to Australia in 2003 and moved with her husband and kids to a small hobby farm near Temora in 2013.
Christine has over 20 years experience in administration & bookkeeping and is looking forward to working on project support in the future.