In my role as the Regional Soil Coordinator for the southern half of Western Australia, I’m excited to continue my involvement in the diverse Western Australian agricultural sector and to work with landholders to understand what they need to help them succeed.

The soils of Western Australia are inherently poor in many areas and farmers are often dealing with numerous complicating factors including acidity, compaction, limited nutrition and water repellence. As such, careful management of farming practices is critical to achieving successful and sustainable outcomes.

I grew up on a mixed sheep and cropping farm, south-east of Perth in Western Australia, where I developed a keen interest in landcare processes associated with farming systems. I developed a passion for biology in high school and jumped into a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology at Curtin University. This led to the opportunity to work in the environmental consulting industry as a Botanist where I travelled throughout the state of Western Australia conducting field work in remote areas. I was fortunate to get to places that many people may never see. In the process of distinguishing plants, I found different species were intrinsically linked to the soil and habitat the plants were growing in.

After ten years in environmental consulting, I took a career break to go up to the Kimberley to work on a cattle station for six months during the mustering season. During this time, I also had the opportunity to discuss the environmental approvals pathway for the implementation of a comprehensive centre pivot irrigation system on one of the properties. I was intrigued by the ideas the landholders were considering and the efforts they were putting in to contribute to production and the sustainability of their business.  

As the mustering season came to a close, I returned to Perth where I joined Rio Tinto Iron Ore for five years, working in land rehabilitation, mine closure and environmental approvals divisions. This gave me great exposure to experts in large teams of highly technical professionals involved in complex project management. I worked with colleagues, coordinating a diverse range of biological surveys and contributing to project expansion works.

While working in the mining industry was interesting, I was keen to return to agriculture and was excited to join the CSBP Fertilisers Field Research team where I had the opportunity to develop an understanding of soil nutrition in broadacre cropping and pastoral systems.

I’m inspired by the progressive attitude of Western Australian farmers who are continually looking for an edge to enhance their business, while maintaining the balance of their farming systems to ensure longevity for the generations to come.

I will be actively disseminating knowledge in my region, supporting projects and creating links between the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, led by the Grower Group Alliance, SoilsWest (based at Murdoch University) and other stakeholders.  

It’s also great to be part of a broader national network, which includes the Regional Soil Coordinators and others in the Smart Soils Community of Practice, to share our experience and learn from others.

I am particularly passionate about working with people—both locally and nationally—and consider the opportunity to be involved in contributing to the success of farming family businesses a real privilege.