Dr. Cassandra Schefe
Principal Scientist/Co-owner
After completing a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons) in 1999 at The University of Melbourne, Cassie was employed by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI), Victoria as a research scientist in soil chemistry. Cassie specialised in soil chemistry and soil-plant interactions, completing a GRDC-funded PhD with Monash University on the interactions between carbon and fertilisers to improve nutrient availability in acid soils. Further research was conducted on understanding how nutrients and soil interact using synchrotron techniques, identifying mechanisms to improve nutrient supply, and determining the impact of source and process on the quality of organic amendments. During this period Cassie managed the development and delivery of projects with budgets of up to $600,000.
In 2014 Cassie left DEPI to establish ‘Schefe Consulting’, and to continue working with farmers through part-time employment with Riverine Plains Inc.
Within ‘Schefe Consulting’ (now AgriSci Pty Ltd) Cassie has partnered with a range of fertiliser and mining companies to develop and field test new fertiliser products, conducted synchrotron research with the University of New England and Southern Cross University, supervised PhD students at Monash and Melbourne University, worked with councils and water authorities to manage waste products, and advised corporate farming entities on the management of soil constraints. Cassie has established an industry program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cropping, in partnership with Mars Petcare and the Sustainable Food Lab, USA (now expanded to become the Cool Soil Initiative with multiple investing partners) and managed an Ag-tech research field site in Melbourne on behalf of Monash University and Bosch Australia.
Within her now completed employment with Riverine Plains Inc, Cassie managed and delivered multi-million-dollar research projects funded by the GRDC, the Federal Dept Agriculture and the Soil CRC. Partnerships with several universities were developed, encompassing precision agriculture programs (University of Sydney), Internet of Things (IoT) applications in agriculture (University of Melbourne), and the application of spatial data to predict in-paddock variation in plant-available water (Federation University). Cassie was responsible for developing new project concepts and capturing funding opportunities, managing delivery of all research projects, and managing stakeholder engagement.
Cassie has authored 20 scientific journal papers and numerous conference proceedings and is accredited as a Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS) by Soil Science Australia.
In 2019 Cassie was awarded the Recognising and Rewarding Excellence Award from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Southern Region.
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