John Edward Vercoe — ruminant nutritionist, animal production scientist, research leader, extension and application visionary

The contributions of John Vercoe as a scientist and research leader to animal production research and extension for the beef industry in tropical Australia are briefly reviewed. John Vercoe was honoured in many ways for these outstanding contributions, for his executive roles on national and international research organisations and especially for his contributions to international efforts aimed at reducing world poverty by exploiting the opportunities available from improved livestock production in developing countries.