Pilbara Extension Network
Our Partners
Together our partners will invest up to $6.4 million into initiatives create by and for the Pilbara beef producers
Our Partners
What is Pen?
PEN supports seven pastoral stations across the Pilbara to design, deliver, and evaluate projects that matter to their business right now, while generating insights that benefit the northern beef industry long-term. Each station nominates a Project Lead who shapes the project around a challenge specific to their operation. Topics include grazing strategies, genetics, land rehabilitation, workforce development, and data use.
With expert advice on hand, Leads manage everything from project design and budgeting to data collection and analysis.
The goal is simple: practical, on-station R&D that delivers value today and builds the evidence for tomorrow.
The Pilot Program Structure
- Submission of applications.
- Applicants selected in alignment with predetermined guidelines, with a Lead nominated.
- Leads are guided through six learning modules that provide the structure and learning content to produce a meaningful on-station research project.
- The modules cover topics such as project management, public speaking and media training, personality profiles and how to utilise them, budgeting, social media and content capture strategies, and a final module that gives an opportunity to recap, assess, and strategise for the future.
- These modules are designed to upskill the Leads, give them a way to use those skills, which enhances the learning and retention process, while producing relevant data for Pilbara pastoralists.
- It’s all about driving positive change for people, businesses, land, community, and industry.
- A big goal, we know! So far, we have had very positive feedback from pastoralists and industry representative bodies.
The Projects
Hillside Station, closest to Marble Bar.
Hillside is one of the stations within the Smoothy Cattle Co.
Identified Challenge:
Weaners don’t always make trucking weight for transport to QLD before the wet season.
Status: Complete.
Hillside plans to repeat internally with new research parameters in 2026.
Tahree Kammann
PEN - Hillside Station Lead
Limestone Station, closest to Marble Bar.
Identified Challenge:
Suboptimal carrying capacity across the station, due to multiple systems-based limiting factors.
Status: Ongoing within Limestone Station, initial infrastructure phase complete.
Cam Brooks
PEN - Limestone Station Lead
Sylvania Station, closest to Newman.
Identified Challenge:
Increasing whole herd performance, or, how to remove the underperformers and consistently breed from the high performers.
Status: Ongoing.
Rolling to a new project with university research in 2026.
Summer Willis
PEN - Sylvania Station Lead
Montana Baddeley
PhD Researcher, UWA
Koordarrie Station, closest to Onslow.
Identified Challenge:
Overgrazing of riparian areas, limiting future carrying capacity and causing degradation locally, and further through the ecosystem.
Status: Ongoing via further funding and assistance from Landcare Australia and Gascoyne Pilbara Rangelands Initiative.
Kristie de Pledge
PEN - Koordarrie Station Lead
Wyloo Station, closest to Nanutarra.
Identified Challenge:
Optimising and maintaining consistent conception rates in heifer and second calvers, alongside the ever-present challenge of optimising pasture and land health.
Status: Completed, with continuation within Wyloo’s enterprise.
Shanon Thompson
PEN - Wyloo Station Lead
Yarrie Station, closest to Marble Bar.
Identified Challenge:
Giving every person moving across the Yarrie landscape a vested interest in observing, reporting on, and caring for the vast ecosystem.
Status: Completed, with continued uptake and education occurring perpetually at Yarrie Station.
Charlotte Riseborough
PEN - Yarrie Station Lead
Warrawagine Station, closest to Marble Bar.
Identified Challenge:
Restoring historically degraded areas of the station ecosystem to a healthy, productive state.
Status: Ongoing within Warrawagine Station, phase one of remediation complete.
