Mark Skewes joined the South Australian Department of Agriculture in 1986, and currently works for the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), at Loxton Research Centre. Mark has many years of experience in research of irrigated tree and vine crops, including variety and rootstock comparisons, irrigation scheduling, and soil and plant water monitoring.

In 2017 Mark commenced industrial hemp research on behalf of the South Australian government. In 2021 Mark was appointed as the National Coordinator for AgriFutures Australia’s Industrial Hemp Variety Trials, and he also oversees the two South Australian IHVT sites.