In the early 1970s Owen Duncan was an enthusiastic proponent of the emerging Australian sunflower industry. The Australia Sunflower Association notes with great sadness the recent passing of the man considered to have been the ‘father of the Australian sunflower industry’.
Mr Duncan served as inaugural chairman of the Australian Sunflower Association (ASA) and remained an active member of the Association for many years.
He was well-respected member of a group of agricultural scientists driving the development of several new grain industries in response to the introduction of quotas on wheat production in the late 1960s that had growers looking for alternative crops.
Mr Duncan joined the Queensland Grain Growers Association as Technical Services Manager in the early 1970s, supporting QGGA’s expansion into marketing services for a range of new crops. He played a vital role in the coordination and extension of research work to sunflower growers.
