Professor Pratley graduated with BSc (Hons) from the University of NSW (UNSW) before undertaking PhD studies at UNSW, investigating plant and soil factors affecting the selenium nutrition of grazing livestock.

Professor Pratley took up an academic position at Wagga Wagga Agricultural College (now Charles Sturt University) in 1972 and since then has taught courses in agronomy and related areas and has published widely in conservation farming, weed management, herbicide resistance and allelopathy. He was Foundation Dean of Science and Agriculture at Charles Sturt University from 1990 until 2006.

Professor Pratley is Secretary of the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture. He is a former President of the Australian Society of Agronomy and former Vice President of the International Allelopathy Society. He has served on the Boards of the Cooperative Research Centres of Viticulture, Sustainable Rice Production, Weed Management Systems and Plant Based Management of Dryland Salinity. He is a member of the Research Committee of the Australian Farm Institute and of the NSW Primary Industries Minister's Science Council.

• Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture, Secretary
• Member of Research Advisory Committee of the Australian Farm Institute
• Member of the NSW Primary Industries Minister's Science Council
• Member of the following learned societies:
• International Allelopathy Society
• Australian Society of Agronomy
• NSW Weed Society
• Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology

• Conservation farming
• Weed management
• Herbicide resistance
• Allelopathy
• GE crops