Meet our 2025 Soil Health Champion

How would a 4^th generation WA cattleman from the Pilbara make a go of farming in the high rainfall South West region?

Now a Boyup Brook beef producer, Warren Pensini has done just that and been named the South West’s 2025 Soil Health Champion.

Warren has been managing his 1000ha property since 2001. He now uses a holistic approach and successfully markets under the brand Blackwood Valley Beef.

How did he get from there to here?

First, according to Warren, came a high level of frustration with conventional farming practices which set in three years after his move south.

Warren’s soil health journey

It was then that he embarked on a series of changes to the way he farmed with the aim of becoming more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.

In 2004 he undertook an RCS Grazing for Profit course followed by a Cell Grazing Focus course that incorporated Holistic Management. He’s now clocked up more than 20 years’ experience with planned grazing.

But the learning didn’t stop there. Warren completed the Landmark Education Forum in 2010, which he says helped him to connect with others and start making decisions without fear attached.

Planned grazing helped Warren establish and manage perennial pastures, which he has incorporated on his farm since around 2010.

Paying it forward

Once Warren was able to create successful change within his own operation, he began looking outward for opportunities to help others benefit from his learnings.

He was a keynote speaker at the 2015 Soil Health Conference where he talked about his experiences with soil health, and hosted a field day with South West NRM in 2016 helping others understand how to use perennials.

Since then he has worked with Wide Open Agriculture and their Dirty Clean Food brand, and now also works with Mulloon Institute implementing a landscape rehydration demonstration where he has hosted several events.

South West NRM Sustainable Agriculture Program Manager Peter Clifton said Warren has always been willing to talk about his experiences and trials and learn from others.

“He is a fantastic advocate for soil health and a much-deserved soil health champion,” Peter said.