Jacqueline Rowarth

Jacqueline Rowarth CNZM
Rowarth in 2008
Born	Jacqueline Sara Rowarth 1956 (age 68–69) St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
Alma mater	Massey University
Occupations	Agronomist dairy farmer
Scientific career
Institutions	AgResearch Lincoln University Unitec University of Melbourne Massey University University of Waikato
Thesis	Phosphate cycling in grazed hill-country pasture  (1987)

Jacqueline Sara Rowarth CNZM (born 1956) is a New Zealand agronomist, dairy farmer and science administrator. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Career

Rowarth was born at St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. ^[5] She moved to New Zealand in 1976 and has an agricultural science degree with first-class honours in environmental agriculture, and obtained a PhD in soil science from Massey University, with a 1987 thesis titled Phosphate cycling in grazed hill-country pasture. ^[6] She worked at AgResearch for six years before teaching plant science at Lincoln University. ^[7] From 2000 to 2004, she was dean of the postgraduate division and director of research at Unitec Institute of Technology. She was briefly associate professor at the University of Melbourne, from 2005 to 2006. She returned to New Zealand as a professor, teaching at Massey and the University of Waikato. ^[8]

In October 2016, Rowarth left Waikato to become the first chief scientist of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). ^{[9] [10]} In 2018, she resigned from her role at the EPA; it was later revealed that the EPA was warned Rowarth's behaviour was damaging trust in the organisation, apparently due to comments to the media about environmentalist concerns that she deemed unwarranted. ^{[11] [12]} According to Rowarth, she was often misquoted. ^{[13] [14]}

Rowarth became a farmer-elected representative on the board of DairyNZ. ^[2] In 2024, she is a director, and also adjunct professor at Lincoln University. ^[4]

Views

Rowarth has strongly criticised veganism. She has argued that a vegan diet will not save the planet from climate change and has also argued that an omnivorous diet including a moderate amount of dairy products and meat delivers the required nutrients per person for least environmental impact. ^[15]

Rowarth has also criticised regenerative agriculture based on the restoration of soil fertility through techniques like water retention and composting, and supports the intensification of agricultural practices with higher levels of inputs and output per unit area. ^[16]

Honours and awards

In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours, Rowarth was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to agricultural science. ^[17] In 2024, she was awarded the Jubilee Medal by the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science, for "her contribution to primary resource science as a leader in research, education, technology transfer and communication". ^[18]

Selected publications

• Rowarth, Jacqueline (1987). Phosphate cycling in grazed hill-country pasture (Thesis). Massey University.
• Rowarth, Jacqueline; Cookson, W. R; Cornforth, I. S. (2002). "Winter soil temperature (2–15 °C) effects on nitrogen transformations in clover green manure amended or unamended soils; a laboratory and field study" . Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 34 (10): 1401–1415. Bibcode:2002SBiBi..34.1401C. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00083-4.

References

1. "C.V." (PDF). sci.waikato.ac.nz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
2. "Farmers elect representative to DairyNZ board".
3. "Jacqueline Rowarth: Dairy NZ farmer-elected director says farmers are doing their best to reduce emissions". spreaker.com. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
4. "Jacqueline Rowarth - farmer elected director". dairynz.co.nz. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
5. "Rowarth, Jacqueline Sara, 1956". National Library of New Zealand. 2024. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024.
6. Rowarth, Jacqueline (1987). Phosphate cycling in grazed hill-country pasture (Doctoral thesis). Massey Research Online, Massey University. hdl:10179/3640.
7. "30 November 1999 Leading Woman Scientist Among Lincoln Excellence Award Winners".
8. "Queen's Birthday Honours recognise services to agriculture, disability and biotechnology - Massey University".
9. "Jacqueline Rowarth appointed as EPA's chief scientist". Stuff . 10 August 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
10. "The EPA chief scientist". EPA. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
11. "EPA warned about scientist's behaviour". RNZ News . 21 March 2018.
12. "Official letter" (PDF). www.parliament.nz. 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
13. "Scientist Jacqueline Rowarth says she left EPA of own accord". Stuff . 23 March 2018.
14. "Was former EPA chief scientist Jacqueline Rowarth muzzled?". www.noted.co.nz.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
15. "Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: Why veganism won't save the world". The Country. 2021. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024.
16. Rowarth, Jacqueline S.; Roberts, Ants H.C.; King, Warren; Manning, Michael J. (2020). "New-generative agriculture – based on science, informed by research and honed by New Zealand farmers". Journal of New Zealand Grasslands. 82: 221–229. doi:10.33584/jnzg.2020.82.430.
17. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2008". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
18. Scott, Annette (24 October 2024). "Ag science honours three industry leaders". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 8 March 2025.