John Piltz

John graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Wool and Pastoral Science) from the University of NSW in 1982 and commenced work at the Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute in 1984 as a technical officer, working in forage conservation and ruminant nutrition research. During this time has worked on numerous industry funded projects evaluating forages and silages for beef, dairy and sheep production. In 1993 received a Masters of Rural Science from the University of New England for his research thesis on maize forage quality ‘Digestibility of Australian Maize Silages’. John is the author and editor of the ‘Successful Silage’ manual that was the basis for the TopFodder Silage extension program, which aimed to improve silage making practise on Australian dairy farms. John was also the TopFodder National Coordinator until his current appointment – Livestock Research Officer in 2005. John’s research focusses on southern farming systems, livestock nutrition and forage conservation. John supervises a number of postgraduate students at Charles Sturt University and provides technical support to the NSW DPI Feed Quality Service.