Alan Kirton

He received a MacMillan Brown Agriculture Research Scholarship and a Fulbright Travel Grant which enabled him to enroll for PhD studies at Michigan State University.

Upon his return from the United States in 1963 Kirton was employed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in the Meat Group at the Ruakura Animal Research Station.

The abattoir remains to this day a major facility for undertaking production and processing research directly aligned to the New Zealand meat industry.

[4] Kirton dispelled a number of myths that prevailed in the industry, showing that— Kirton's leadership was influential in the number of farmers choosing to no longer castrate their rams or even remove the tails, so improving meat yield without compromising meat quality, and improving animal welfare.

[5] Kirton produced over 290 publications for the Meat Science scientific literature, 212 of which he was senior author, and contributed 9 chapters to a number of books at the forefront of the industry.