Q&A with Warren Pensini from Blackwood Valley Beef
Hi, I’m Warren Pensini, along with my wife Lori we regeneratively farm 1640 acres of land at Boyup Brook, 100km South East of Bunbury in the South West. We run Angus cattle and supply pasture finished cattle into the Dirty Clean Food beef supply program.
At the beginning of 2019 I assisted Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) in setting up their beef and lamb business on the back of my many years of experience managing and running Blackwood Valley Beef and Blackwood Valley Lamb. I finished working directly with WOA in February this year to concentrate full time on the farm where we are implementing our whole farm landscape rehydration project alongside The Mulloon Institute. This project will dramatically change how we farm our land, and I believe will provide a blueprint for regenerative farming in WA into the future.
What do you produce?
Beef!
Why do you practise regenerative farming?
For the reasons outlined above, I feel the current extractive and high input methods of what is considered the ‘norm’ in farming will become more environmentally and economically unsustainable in WA as time goes on. We still have much to learn about regenerative farming techniques, particularly in the WA context, and how we can make the system profitable for farmers, but also how we can produce high quality food at a reasonable price for our customers. Long term proof pointing of regenerative farming practices is vital if we are to achieve these aims. I look forward to working with, and having support from WOA in measuring and documenting these proof points.
What our customers purchasing your product means to you?
Most farmers never get to see what they produce, as the final product being enjoyed by the end customer. This is something I have been doing for years, and it is very satisfying to know that what I am farming is being valued and enjoyed by people. This is not always universally the case though, and sometimes one has to take on board criticism as well, which can be confronting for most farmers, so perhaps that’s why most don’t do it! But it also allows for improvement. I feel that we are now consistently producing a very high quality product, and that would not have come without that direct customer feedback and awareness that is gained by producing the end product.
Which is your favourite cut, and why?
Tough question, I have lots of favourite cuts, depending on the occasion. As a whole cut that can have multiple uses I love Chuck Roll. This is one of the most flavoursome steak cuts you will ever eat. For slow cooking it’s unbeatable and you can mince it and make the best burger you will ever eat.
My favourite top end steak would be Rib Eye, middle of the road steak would be Flat Iron or Rump Cap. For roasting, it definitely has to be Bolar Blade. Generally speaking I love the forequarter cuts as they have the most flavour due to the marbling being laid down in the forequarter first. Fat is flavour people! Enjoy
