Meet the team: Specialised Food Centre manager Nikki Poulish
A lifelong love of regional Western Australia and a passion for agriculture has shaped the life and career of Specialised Food Centre manager Nikki Poulish. Nikki has worked in agriculture for 23 years, more than 20 of those with DAFWA, based in the Great Southern region in Jerramungup, Mt Barker and Albany.
After gaining a Bachelor of Science degree at Murdoch University, she furthered her learning with postgraduate studies in Rural Communications. Nikki has since worked extensively in farming systems.
“I got into agriculture from the roots up,” Nikki said. “I started with research on rhizobium and nitrogen fixation in pasture legumes, then went into pastures, grazing systems, livestock, cropping systems, floriculture, diversification, farming systems and agricultural education.”
Nikki also managed WoolPro southern region then the TopCrop WA State team between 2001-2003.
WoolPro and TopCrop were programs that focused on supporting grower groups (and schools) to undertake current best practice farming. These methods were showcased by sharing experiences through group meetings, and running trials or demonstrations on growers’ properties to demonstrate what impact a changed management practice would have on production per hectare.
It was Nikki’s passion for regional communities and community building, through volunteer work, which saw her undertake an AusAid project in Vietnam in 2003. There, she investigated the supply chain of the domestic cut flower industry to look for opportunities that might lead to an export market for local farmers and improve their longer-term viability.
For five years Nikki worked on an Education Initiative project for DAFWA between 2011-2015.
The initiative was to work with teachers, agricultural high schools and colleges to ensure current practice and latest technologies were being taught in the curriculum and to encourage students into agriculture as a career.
They also worked with primary schools to ensure ‘agricultural literacy’ was increased, exposing younger children to agricultural concepts and knowing where and how their food and fibre was produced.
Nikki says now that she is working for the Specialised Food Centre she sees exciting opportunities for farmers and processors in the WA Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions.
“The Specialised Food Centre is a new challenge for me but having strong networks in the Great Southern make it a perfect fit,” she said.
“We’ve had a great start to this project with successful collaborations formed with Regional Development Australia and South Coast Natural Resource Management, Great Southern Development Commission, Lower Great Southern Economic Alliance (City of Albany, Shire of Plantagenet and Shire of Denmark), Shire of Gnowangerup, Shire of Cranbrook, Shire of Broomehill-Tambellup, Gillamii Centre, North Stirlings Pallinup Natural Resources, Albany commercial horticulturalists and the Great Southern Food Network.”