One of Agriculture Victoria’s most respected researchers, Dr Joe Panozzo, recently retired after more than 35 years of service.

In the eyes of his former colleagues, Dr Joe Panozzo remains an incredibly humble and approachable person despite all of his achievements in agricultural research.

Commencing with grower-funded Victorian Wheat Institute as a wheat quality scientist in the 1980s, Dr Panozzo worked closely with three wheat breeding programs to determine quality traits in the early generations of the breeds.

A friend and mentor to many, he has supervised 11 PhD students during their studies at Horsham and continues to instil his passion for agricultural research as an honorary supervisor at the University of Melbourne.

Dr Simone Warner, head of Agriculture Victoria Research thanked Dr Panozzo for his service to Victorian agriculture.

“Dr Panozzo is recognised globally for his vast experience in grains research,” Dr Warner said.

“He has led research and development projects in wheat breeding, pulses, oilseeds and ruminant feed nutrition that many organisations have benefitted from.

“The significance of his scientific contributions is evident in the 140-plus publications that bear his name, and his team’s research findings have been cited more than 4,300 times.

“Agriculture Victoria is very thankful to Joe for his contributions that have been such a benefit to our organisation and Victoria.”

Acting Research Director and Horsham SmartFarm site manager, Dr Garry Rosewarne, said Dr Panozzo has been a great colleague and friend to many.

“I worked with Joe first-hand in our pulse breeding programs, and he has revolutionised how we assess quality in such a way that it goes hand in hand with our genomics capabilities,” Dr Rosewarne said.

“His wealth of knowledge and experience will be sorely missed.”

Dr Panozzo said he would look back at his time at Agriculture Victoria with fondness, and the Horsham site as a truly wonderful place to undertake agricultural-based research that had clear economic benefits for Victoria.

At the height of his career, Dr Panozzo was awarded the Farrer Medal, which perpetuates the achievements of Australia’s first wheat breeder, William Farrer and the prestigious Australasian Grain Science Association FB Guthrie Medal for ‘outstanding scientific achievement and contribution to knowledge in the field of grain science.