Rate My Professor Joe Gebbels

Joe Gebbels serves as an Adjunct research and teaching staff member in the School of Agricultural Sciences at Murdoch University. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Economics from The University of Western Australia, completed in 2023, with his thesis titled 'Optimisation and system transformation can reduce livestock emissions in Australia.' His academic background also includes a B.Sc. in Agriculture with Animal Science (Honours) and an M.Sc. from Maastricht University (2013-2014). During his PhD at UWA's School of Agriculture & Environment, he contributed to research on livestock productivity and emissions reduction.

Professionally, Gebbels has been with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) since 2017, advancing to Program Manager for Research & Development (2017-2023) and currently Project Manager for Sustainable Feedbase Resources since March 2024, while also serving as Program Manager for Sheep and Goat Productivity. He leads initiatives enhancing sustainable livestock systems, including projects on ewe survival research, impacts of micro-climate and heat stress on sheep reproductive performance in collaboration with Murdoch University, edible shelters to improve lamb survival, optimisation of saltbush-based forage systems, superior shrub systems for feed gaps, and climate-ready mixed systems for low rainfall farming. His work addresses climate adaptation, emissions reduction, and productivity in sheep, goats, and beef enterprises. Key publications include 'Improving productivity reduces methane intensity but transformational change is required to achieve ambitious targets in the Australian red meat sector' (2022, Animal Production Science) and 'Twinning in cattle: a pathway for reducing the methane footprint of grazing beef enterprises' (2023). Gebbels has presented at the Sheepmeat & Wool Outlook, hosted farmer panels on confinement feeding and deferred grazing, and collaborates with institutions like UWA, CSIRO, and Murdoch University to drive industry-relevant research.