Can Farming and Conservation Work Together?

Landline

Topic: Conservation

The fence keeps out feral cats and foxes, and lets native animals like the eastern barred bandicoot stay inside.

Ecologist Damian Jones sees the harm feral predators cause to Australian wildlife every day.

Damian Jones rides a four-wheel motorbike along a 17-kilometre-long fence that surrounds the 1,000-hectare Tiverton farm.

He uses AI to review footage from 50 trail cameras along the fence to check for any predators.

The cameras show that eastern barred bandicoots and eastern quolls are safe inside the fence.

A fence that helps prevent extinction

Outside the fence, feral cats and foxes often look at the native animals through the wire.

Without the fence, the bandicoots would be eaten by cats and foxes and disappear.

The same thing would happen to the quolls if foxes got to them.

Damian Jones opens a gate in the strong fence around the conservation property.

Tiverton is Victoria's largest sanctuary without predators.

It is also a commercial farm with about 5,000 merino sheep.

Conservationists think this is a big success, proving that farming and conservation can work together.

The farm is profitable, but not extremely profitable, according to Odonata Foundation's Nigel Sharp.

Dr Jones believes that without the fence, native animals like the eastern quoll would not survive.

Tiverton is part of the Odonata Foundation, which helps save endangered species.

The foundation was started by Nigel Sharp, a businessman and environmentalist.

Twenty years ago, the foundation bought a 500-hectare property near Melbourne.

The property was fixed up and turned into a wildlife refuge with a predator-proof fence.

Nigel Sharp is an environmentalist and entrepreneur who runs the Odonata Foundation.

The foundation has successful breeding programs for eastern barred bandicoots and eastern quolls.

Farm manager Tim Hill is amazed by how well the marsupials handle extreme weather.

The farm was very dry in 2024-25, but the bandicoots were still thriving and breeding.

Wildlife is recovering on a commercial property

The goal was to preserve and regenerate native grasslands on the farm.

There are only 500 southern brush-tailed rock wallabies left, and 400 are at Mt Rothwell Sanctuary.

The presence of marsupials like bandicoots helps the native grasslands grow back.

Bandicoots move a lot of soil every night, which helps the ecosystem.

There is another benefit for farming

The native grasslands on Tiverton are coming back, and the wool from the sheep is better quality.

The wool has stronger fibers because the native grasses are healthier.

Sheep play a key role in managing the ecosystem on Tiverton farm.

The wool from Tiverton is stronger and less prone to problems.

Tiverton is one of the Odonata Foundation's eight conservation properties.

The big fence around Tiverton cost over $500,000 to build.

Feral cats and foxes are the main cause of animal extinctions in Australia.

Keeping them out of Tiverton helps the lambs survive.

About one-fifth of the property is fenced off for ground-nesting birds like brolgas.

Farm manager Tim Hill is excited to see rare marsupials on the farm.

Tim Hill says the property's transformation is very exciting.

Scaling up a predator-free future

There is growing evidence that having more native animals in the landscape makes the ecosystem healthier.

The Odonata Foundation is working with scientists from Yale University to study this.

Nigel Sharp says that without animals, the fungi in the soil do not work properly.

The soil ecosystem needs animals to function correctly.

Nigel Sharp thinks it is possible to replicate Tiverton on a larger scale.

But he says that finding large areas of farmland with suitable habitats is a challenge.

Wildlife ecologist Damian Jones checks one of his trail cameras on Tiverton.

The main challenge is ensuring the survival of endangered species by building up large, genetically diverse populations.

Tiverton is an example of a world that has been largely lost since European settlement, now being reborn.

Nigel Sharp's dream is to have a feral predator-free Australia where native animals can roam freely.

He wants to achieve this through a well-planned progression, eventually removing the need for fences.

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