Ron's decades of service to primary industry recognised with OAM

Dr Hacker's work has taken him across Australia, to Africa and the United States, studying how best to manage the rangelands, which make up more than 70 per cent of Australia's landscape.

Now, his decades of service has been recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours for service to primary industry and conservation.

Dr Hacker is humble about receiving the prestigious award.

"It's very gratifying, it is a little humbling when you consider the number of people who actually deserve these things but don't get them because somebody hasn't taken the trouble to nominate them," he said.

"I'm very grateful that someone took the trouble to nominate me."

Dr Hacker began working in rangeland management after graduating from the University of Queensland in 1968 with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science.

The rangelands cover most of Australia, and are largely used for animal grazing.

He said the industry has evolved since he started in 1970, from a focus on the grazing animals to now a focus on the land and its biodiversity.

"I've found over the years that trying to understand and manage natural systems is actually much more challenging than trying to manage agricultural systems, where as far as possible you can control all the inputs - in range you control very little," Dr Hacker said.

"Ecologically, it's a fascinating area."

An expert in his field, Dr Hacker has held many roles over the years at various rangeland organisations.

He has published 52 journal papers, 71 conference papers and 32 major reports, and conducted 22 projects in NSW which received more than $3 million in grants.

He was editor of the Australian Rangeland Journal between 1985 and 1990, president at the Australian Rangeland Society between 1995 and 1997, and was the Australian delegate at a symposium on land grazing in Ethiopia in 1983.

Dr Hacker and his wife Kylie moved to Tenambit in 2014 to be closer to family. They have two sons, Andrew and Christopher.