From growing up around dairy country, vineyards and orchards in South Australia to studying and working in agriculture in Western Australia, Amelia Thornton has had a long-standing curiosity about farming and how people make agricultural businesses work in very different environments.
Now, a few months into her role as South West NRM’s Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator (SAF) Amelia is getting out across the South West, Upper Great Southern and south-western Wheatbelt, meeting farmers and grower groups, building connections and learning more about the opportunities and challenges facing different farming businesses in the region.
Her role as South West NRM’s SAF is to connect farmers with useful information, expertise and opportunities, drawing on relationships with grower groups, industry and agricultural networks to help explore sustainable agriculture practices that make sense from a production, business and environmental perspective.
South West NRM Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator – Amelia Thornton
An early interest in agriculture
Amelia grew up in South Australia, first in dairy country and later among the vineyards and orchards of the Adelaide Hills. One of her earliest connections with farming was through her family’s farm at Quorn, south of the Flinders Ranges.
“Growing up around farming, I remember wondering how people could grow crops and raise livestock in an environment that always seemed unpredictable,” Amelia said.
“I’m not sure there was a particular moment when I became interested in agriculture, but I’ve always been fascinated by how people make farming work in different environments.”
After finishing school, Amelia moved to Northam to study at Muresk Institute before moving to Gnowangerup, where her husband is from. She now lives in the mixed-farming community of Wagin.
Amelia completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management through Charles Sturt University at Muresk, graduating as Dux in 2020. She went on to complete a Master of Sustainable Agriculture in 2024.
She credits Muresk lecturers and mentors Wendy Dymond, Christine Storer and Chris Antonio with having a significant influence on her interest in agriculture.
Agriculture from different angles
Amelia’s experience since then has taken her into several very different parts of the industry. She has worked as a farm hand, as a parts interpreter for agricultural machinery, harvest grain sampler at CBH, as a trial officer with CSBP and as an event coordinator for Wagin Woolorama.
It’s a varied background that has reinforced her interest in understanding individual farming systems rather than assuming the same approach will work everywhere.
“No two farms, businesses or production systems are the same,” Amelia said.
“I’m particularly interested in sitting down with farmers and hearing how their systems work, what they’re trying to achieve and why they do things a certain way.”
Connecting people, knowledge and opportunities
Amelia is part of a national network of Sustainable Agriculture Facilitators (SAFs) established by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.
SAFs work with farmers, landholders, grower and community groups, extension officers and agricultural industries to share information on climate-smart and sustainable agriculture, build partnerships and connections, and support sustainable agriculture projects within their regions.
That can include connecting farmers with technical expertise, research and other producers; sharing information about programs, funding and training opportunities; supporting events and communities of practice; connecting with First Nations peoples and organisations; and helping people explore areas such as natural resource management, biodiversity, climate resilience, emissions reduction and carbon and biodiversity opportunities.
For Amelia, an important part of that is understanding what a farmer is trying to achieve before looking at what might be useful.
“I’m interested in finding ways to help farmers explore practices, ideas and technologies that might not immediately seem suitable for their particular system – and looking at whether there are ways to make them work from both a production and business perspective.”
Come and have a chat
Over the coming months, Amelia is keen to continue meeting producers and grower groups, hearing what is happening on farms and finding out what people are thinking about doing next.
“I’m hoping I can be useful in sharing knowledge and resources, connecting people with the right expertise and helping explore what might be suitable for different farms and businesses,” she said.
Away from work, Amelia is equally at home outdoors. She enjoys camping, fishing and the occasional shoot, and volunteers with the Nyabing CWA branch.
So if you see her at a field day, grower group meeting, on farm or somewhere in between, Amelia has a simple invitation:
“Come and have a chat.”
You can also catch Amelia at the Wagin-Woodanilling Landcare office, where she is based most days.
Find out more about South West NRM’s Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator and how the role supports sustainable agriculture across the region.
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