John's career in agriculture spans almost 30 years and began as a biological control entomologist in the Western Australian Department of Agriculture. 

In the late 1980s he joined the Western Australian research and development team of ICI Rural Division, later Crop Care, one of the leading agricultural chemical suppliers in Australia. Gaining broad agronomic and technical experience, John then moved to marketing, filling several national marketing roles before returning to research and development in 2001 as the national Technical and Development Manager for Crop Care.

He joined the Grains Research and Development Corporation in 2003 as Manager - Crop Protection, routinely engaged in prioritising, planning, commissioning, managing and evaluating grains research and development programs involving national and international research teams from universities, state agencies, CSIRO, CRCs, private contractors and grower groups.

John retired from this role in November 2007 and is an independent consultant.