David McGrath joins soil health company Metagen

Queensland-based soil health company Metagen Australia has appointed agricultural entrepreneur and innovator David McGrath as its northern Murray-Darling Basin territory manager. 

McGrath brings extensive experience commercialising agricultural technologies across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the US. In his new role, he will focus on advancing outcomes for horticulture, cotton and broadacre farmers across a large and strategically important region spanning Central Queensland to Central New South Wales.  

Originally from Ireland, McGrath has more than 15 years in the Australian agricultural space. He has founded and scaled multiple ag-focused enterprises aimed at addressing key challenges facing growers and has built strong relationships across Australia’s cotton, broadacre and horticultural industries. 

Before joining Metagen in January, he was business development manager Australia and New Zealand for MagrowTec. In this role, he led the commercial deployment of the company’s magnetic boom-spray technology, onboarded a national distribution partner, and designed and executed large-scale demonstration programs to drive grower adoption. 

His previous roles include co-founder and director of OneCrop where he commercialised a biodegradable film system for crop establishment in Australian cotton. He also expanded the technology into the US hemp and cotton markets and oversaw the establishment of a joint venture in China. 

McGrath has hands-on experience across product research and development, business development, strategic planning, marketing, and technical support.  

“There is a significant opportunity to address the needs of farmers across both broadacre and horticulture, particularly as the sector responds to growing pressures around environmental sustainability and profitability,” McGrath said.  

“I am looking forward to tailoring solutions to achieve better outcomes with a focus on improving soil health.”