Tanya Kilminster’s goal in her role as SW WA Hub Knowledge Broker is for farmers and grower groups to feel more confident making decisions in a hotter, drier and more variable climate.
“To achieve drought resilience, it is important that farmers are provided with the skills to assess risk and to make well informed agronomic and business decisions,” Ms Kilminster said.
“I’m passionate about maintaining vibrant communities, and if farmers are successful and profitable then they will want to stay and invest in their communities and bring their families home too,” she said.
Ms Kilminster, who is a mixed farmer at Bruce Rock, says to achieve these goals she works to understand the drought resilience research ‘gaps’ across agricultural industries in the South-West WA agricultural region.
“It’s then about understanding the collaborations and partnerships that the Hub can facilitate to bring the right science to those issues, and then translating that science into projects,” she said.
Ms Kilminster is proud of the achievements of the SW WA Hub in strengthening industry connections and initiating new projects, many of which align with local drought resilience priorities identified following a comprehensive process.
“For example, we were successful in initiating a ‘cross hub’ soil moisture monitoring project aimed at improving irrigation management,” she said.
“This FDF-funded project involves collaboration with other states and there are great links between Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) researchers and farmers.
“To me, this project epitomises what the Hub is all about.”
