Written by Tony Leggett

Little is left to chance or challenge in Dr Brent Clothier’s work life. And that is just how he wants it.

As one of Plant & Food Research’s (PFR) principal scientists, Brent is a firm advocate of robust science supporting better decisions for the primary sector.

Without exception, science produced at PFR takes a defined, rigorous journey from hypothesis to its final delivery point.

It is one of seven Crown Research Institutes (CRI) owned by New Zealand taxpayers, but only about a third of its research is funded directly by Government. The rest comes from commercial contracts with private companies and the reinvestment of royalty incomes from its many plant variety rights.

Regardless of the diverse source of the funding, the process is similar.

For publicly funded work, the findings are scrutinised internally and peer reviewed externally before being published in an academic journal. Sometimes results are delivered at an international conference or direct to the sector.

With commercial clients, the internal peer review process takes on greater significance.

“I’ve just been part of a group of six PFR scientists involved in a very robust exchange over a private contract report,” says Brent. “We get in a room, and it could be a virtual room, shut the door and argue about what it is the evidence base is saying.”

Brent says it is rare for a private client to insist on confidentiality if the immediate results prove unfavourable to them. A more likely outcome is a request for further collaborative work to probe deeper into reasons why the results might have been surprising or unexpected.

“And some of our private clients are happy for us to publish results in an international journal so they can say it’s been peer reviewed and that’s the hallmark of quality.”

He is comfortable with the expectations from private clients and says the outcomes are always presented to them “warts and all”, regardless of who is funding the work.

“We say we’re the science providers for your sector, and your success determines our success, so we’ll give them the best advice we can based on robust science that has been through our internal channel where it is challenged vigorously by peers.

“Yes, it is a partnership between us and our private client. But we’re all working for the greater industry good, and when they succeed, we do too.”

Most CRIs also have a science publication officer who reviews every paper before it’s delivered either at an international conference, published in an academic journal, or presented back to a private client.

“So, we have an internal process that ensures our science is robust. That’s brand ‘Plant & Food’, so it’s absolutely imperative to have it in place because that’s our personal and corporate reputation at stake.”

External communications, including through social media platforms, are guided by an experienced communications team within each CRI.

Brent admits he’s frustrated at times by “half-baked” claims made by people or companies on social media platforms. PFR engages frequently on social media channels, but every post is carefully curated to ensure the evidence base is referenced, and its brand and reputation are maintained.

He rejects the suggestions science is slow to move or that too many reports sit on shelves gathering dust. Delivering science on schedule is now embedded in every contract the CRIs sign, he says.

Milestones must be achieved, both for private and public-good projects, and most include an implementation pathway that sets out how the science must be delivered to the sector.

“It's a bit of a throwback to the past to suggest now that science is not delivering.”

Historically, a science paper would have been submitted to an international journal after being peer reviewed by at least two referees.

“Often they were the only two people who might ever read the paper!

“It’s a record of achievement, which is great, and it remains in the literature accessible for all time.”

Brent says research outcomes have improved since implementation pathways became a requirement of science because of the opportunity for scientist and the sector to interact directly.

“An email from two anonymous referees telling you to fix up your grammar is not very exciting.”

Instead, these days, scientists are often called on to deliver their research directly to an audience of funders, such as a series of workshops around the country where they are engaging with people highly engaged in what has been discovered.

“Suddenly you’ve got a whole range of questions to answer over a half day or whole day, which is really great. You get questions like ‘what didn’t you find out?’ or they’ll say ‘tell us more about this finding’ and that feedback shapes our further research focus.”

Two good examples of science moving quickly are the 2019 Covid-19 pandemic and the arrival in 2010 of Psa, the bacterial kiwifruit vine disease.

“In both cases, with our owner’s [Government] consent, the CRIs were able to mobilise staff to provide the science,” Brent says.

In the case of Covid, the Institute for Environmental Science and Research moved its available workforce on to wastewater testing and genome sequencing work. When Psa hit and started to spread quickly, PFR immediately shifted staff to new roles to help limit the spread and eventually eliminate the disease.

Brent says robust science is one of the big drivers of New Zealand's world-leading primary sector.

He notes the latest Situation Outlook for Primary Industries update from MPI has the sector set to provide a record $52.2 billion of export earnings for the country to 30 June 2022 despite the huge challenge from the Covid-19 pandemic. The primary industries will supply 81.8% of our merchandise exports.

"Science is playing a big part in maintaining our primary sector's rock-star status by keeping food and fibre production sustainable, safe, efficient, and incredibly valuable," he says.

Dr Brent Clothier is a Principal Scientist with PFR based in Palmerston North. He has published more than 300 scientific papers on the movement and fate of water, carbon and chemicals in the root–zones of primary production systems, irrigation allocation and water management, plus sustainable vineyard and orchard practices, including adaptation strategies in the face of climate change. He has also published on life-cycle assessment, carbon and water foot-printing, environmental policy, investment into ecological infrastructure, plus natural capital quantification and the evaluation of ecosystem services.