NIKKI Dumbrell sees nothing but blue skies ahead for agriculture in WA.
As the latest addition to the WA No-Tillage Farmers Association (WANTFA) research team, she is looking at the big picture in her new role an extension officer and economist.
Raised on the family beef and dairy farm in Walpole, Nikki developed a love for agriculture and the environment from a very young age.
"We always grew our own produce, ate seasonally out of our own garden, ate homegrown meat, and always lived off the land," she said.
Educated in the South West, Nikki opted to forego a gap year at the end of high school in order to jump straight into her tertiary study at the University of WA.
She was initially unsure if she would pursue an agricultural-related degree, but it was her keen passion for economics that saw her take up a Bachelor of Science-Environmental and Natural Resource Economics.
"I was thinking about studying carbon pricing, natural resource management or maybe even policy," she said.
"And then I realised that was not what I wanted to do.
"I wanted to work in an industry where those things are applied.
"I find agriculture is a really interesting industry in which to work, where people are responsible for managing their land, looking after it and producing food and fibre to service the community.
"It is a really important industry and I think it is important that we look after agriculture through changes in climate, natural resource conditions and policy changes."
In the final year of her degree Nikki completed her honours project on carbon farming where she focused her research on farmers' willingness to adopt different carbon farming practices.
She was recognised for her thesis work when she was named as a finalist in the 2014 Ag Institute Australia's Young Professionals in Agriculture Forum.
Most recently, she was given the opportunity to present her research at the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society annual conference in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, last week.
She was nominated by the staff at the School of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UWA and was named as runner-up in the WA division of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Undergraduate thesis prize.
Nikki and her research supervisors at UWA are also working on adapting her thesis into a publishable article for submission to relevant academic journals, which if successful, would be a major coup for the young graduate.
Despite only completing university at the end of 2013, Nikki was immediately offered the role as a carbon farming extension officer with WANTFA, one of Australia's most recognised and progressive research groups.
Nikki brings enthusiasm to the new role and is looking forward to taking on the management of projects, overcoming barriers in the adoption of carbon farming practices and participating in carbon farming.
"It has been great so far and I am really looking forward to getting into some projects and meeting new people," she said.
"I am looking forward to raising the profile of carbon farming work, and not just from the policy point of view but from the farmer and productivity perspective.
"I think WANTFA has some great projects at the moment that I am excited about."
Nikki said she valued the diverse nature of her new position.
"I get the opportunity to get out among communities of people working on really interesting stuff in this industry," she said.
"At the moment I think agriculture is a growing industry for research and I have found it promising so far because I have been working with people who are willing to work together and collaborate.
"I imagine that is not the case for everyone or in other industries."
Nikki looks forward to providing relevant information about the latest science and innovation to WA farmers.
"Information is power and it helps you with your decision-making and being able to conceptualise what you are doing on your farm, with your neighbours, within the area and within the world," she said.
"Australia still has a big space to grow in research and there are all sorts of exciting new things happening in this area."
Looking to the future, Nikki said it was important for the agricultural sector to develop itself into a sustainable industry.
"There are a lot of restrictions on what you can do and when you can do it," she said. "This relates to climate, resource, technological and of course financial restrictions and it all puts pressure on people.
"Yet, on average, we keep managing to do it."
On a more personal level, Nikki said she looked forward to gaining industry experience and working on new research projects with WANTFA.
