Each fortnight, the WA Agricultural Scientist Spotlight highlights one of Western Australia’s leading agricultural scientists, sharing the personal and professional journeys behind the State’s research and innovation in agriculture.
This week, we feature Tanya Kilminster, Hub Knowledge Broker at the Grower Group Alliance’s South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.
With a career spanning more than two decades, Ms Kilminster has worn many hats in the agricultural sector – researcher, extension officer, mentor, and now broker of knowledge and collaboration.
A start to science with a medical twist
Tanya Kilminster’s journey into agriculture was far from linear.
Growing up on a wheat and sheep farm near Bruce Rock in WA’s eastern wheatbelt, she had early exposure to the rhythms of farming life – from time in the sheep yards with her dad to operating the header during harvest.
Yet, her path initially veered toward medical science.
“After completing high school in the bush, and having a particular love of chemistry and biology, I decided a general Bachelor of Science degree at The University of Western Australia (UWA) was the direction to take as I wasn’t 100 per cent sure what area of science I wanted to land in,” Ms Kilminster said.
She eventually majored in Pharmacology and Molecular Biology, completing an Honours year in Microbiology.
Most of her final years were spent in laboratories at QEII Medical Centre in Nedlands, a far cry from the paddocks of Bruce Rock.
Upon graduation, Ms Kilminster took a role at CSIRO in Floreat with the Animal Production team, putting her microbiology training to work on anti-methanogen vaccines to reduce methane emissions in sheep.
It was a pivotal moment, and one that reconnected her scientific training with her agricultural heritage.
“We were investigating the role of anti-methanogen vaccines to reduce methane emissions in sheep which involved both animal house trials at Floreat and field trials out at the CSIRO research farm, Yalanbee, near Bakers Hill,” she said.
“There’s a lot to be said about team building when rumen fluid and animal metabolic crates are involved.”
Building a career in regional WA
After backpacking overseas, Ms Kilminster returned to Bruce Rock with her partner, who was keen to rejoin his family farm.
She wasn’t sure if she wanted to stay in the region, but a timely visit to the Merredin Department of Agriculture changed everything.
“I updated my resume and dropped in at the local Merredin Ag Department for a chat with the then Officer in Charge, Dr Doug Abrecht,” she said.
“He didn’t even look at my resume.”
That conversation led to her acceptance into the department’s graduate program, beginning in 2001.
Her first role tackled land and water restoration across the Wheatbelt.
But it didn’t take long for her to gravitate back toward the sheep industry, which she called her “passion”.
A short return to UWA to study livestock nutrition gave her the technical grounding to dive into breed production trials and research with Damaras, Dorpers and Merinos – both on-farm and at the Merredin Research Station.
“I still have some of the best memories and connections with the farmers I worked with over this time,” Ms Kilminster said.
Throughout her career, Ms Kilminster has seamlessly blended research with extension, working at the intersection of on-farm challenges and scientific solutions.
She managed the WA site of the national Enrich Forage Shrubs project, which developed sustainable grazing systems using native perennial shrubs.
“By the end of the program in 2014, more than 500 farmers nationally were adopting forage shrubs,” she said.
During WA’s increasingly variable rainfall years in the mid-2000s, she contributed to the Planning for Profit workshops under the Drought Pilot program, helping farm businesses build financial literacy and climate resilience.
Later, a project with the Merredin and Districts Farm Improvement Group (MADFIG) explored investment opportunities in the sheep meat supply chain for Eastern Wheatbelt farms.
“This project was a highlight, working closely with farmers, consultants and both domestic and international supply chains, culminating in a grower study tour to the Middle East in 2019,” Ms Kilminster said.
The study tour, supported by Meat & Livestock Australia and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), took farmers to Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
“Our group was able to see first-hand the entire and varied supply chains,” Ms Kilminster said.
“Talking with importers, traders, processors, butchers, and consumers gave our tour participants a much greater understanding of the consumer needs of the Middle East.”
Knowledge brokering for a more resilient future
In April 2020, Ms Kilminster joined the Grower Group Alliance (GGA) as a Program Broker, a role that evolved into her current position as Knowledge Broker for the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.
“The role has been to identify key Hub activities translating science and research into practice in the context of building drought resilience for farming businesses,” she said.
Her work is focused on building relationships between researchers, industry, government, and communities, ensuring that knowledge flows efficiently between these sectors.
“My day-to-day is never the same but it is mostly about building relationships and knowledge sharing,” Ms Kilminster said.
“The strong relationships across the different segments of industry allow me to understand the priority challenges for farmers, and identify the gaps in research and extension for these priorities.”
While she no longer conducts research directly, Ms Kilminster plays a vital role in facilitating and guiding it, with GGA part of several successful project bids that have been funded to build drought and climate resilience for WA farmers.
She is motivated by the impact this work has on both local communities and broader global systems.
“The work being supported by the Hub will provide farmers with the tools, knowledge and confidence to face a variable and changing climate,” she said.
“This work puts WA farmers in a solid position to be competitive on the global stage.”
Reflections and advice for the next generation
For Ms Kilminster, agriculture is as much about people as it is about productivity.
“The most rewarding part of working in agriculture is that while it’s about producing food and fibre, it’s the people in agriculture who make it one of the most vibrant and exciting industries,” she said.
“We are facing a hotter and drier climate, and it’s the innovation of farmers, researchers and ag tech start-ups that will support farmers to continue to farm the land and prosper.”
Her advice to young scientists is to dive in early, ask questions, and explore different parts of the industry.
She suggested getting work experience or an industry placement early in your study journey, attending industry events, and signing up to a mentoring program if possible.
Ms Kilminster also offers encouragement to those unsure about where they’ll land in agriculture.
“Careers can change over time, I started in research, moved into applied research and extension, and now support all of it rather than undertake it,” she said.
“There’s also lots of flexibility in agriculture, and I’ve been fortunate enough to spend the majority of my working life in the region, while having a family and continuing to stay heavily involved in my own family farm operation.”
Ms Kilminster’s journey from lab researcher to regional knowledge broker demonstrates the breadth of opportunity in agriculture.
Her work today sits at the heart of how WA will respond to the challenges of climate, markets, and sustainability.
“I want to be part of building resilience into farm systems, and I want this for my kids as they look to be part of the agriculture industry for their own futures,” she said.
From investigating rumen microbiology to supporting state-wide networks of innovation, Ms Kilminster’s story is a powerful reminder that science, relationships, and practical solutions are all essential in securing the future of agriculture.
Through the WA Agricultural Scientist Spotlight series, WAARC celebrates the contributions of researchers like Tanya Kilminster, whose work exemplifies the dedication and innovation needed to advance agricultural science in Western Australia.
By sharing their stories, the series aims to inspire a new generation to pursue careers in this vital field, ensuring the State remains at the forefront of agricultural research and sustainability.
