Sustainable Farms: Healthy farmers, Healthy farms, Healthy profits

Home

Support nature, improve farm productivity and connect with community. Join us to explore the potential of on-ground action to improve natural assets on farms.

Find out more

Fencing dams reduces emissions

Breakfast with the Birds, Savernake

June farm dams field days

New book released

Collaborative research finds fencing farm dams halves methane emissions

Studies undertaken by Deakin’s Blue Carbon Lab on Sustainable Farms farm dam sites in north east Victoria and NSW reveal that dam enhancement leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Farm dams are an ever-present feature in any rural landscape in Australia and worldwide, but they often emit high amounts of greenhouse gases. However, new research shows that simply fencing and enhancing a dam can halve methane emissions.

Join us for Breakfast with the Birds in Savernake

Thursday 9 June 2022, 8am

Discover what woodland birds are found in the local Savernake area during a walk through remnant woodland on the property ‘Wandong’. Hear from Sustainable Farms about their long-term biodiversity monitoring in the area and find what you can do to help our local woodland birds.

Free breakfast!

Farm dams winter field days

June 2022

This June we’re out and about in the Central West and Central Tablelands, with three field days on farm dams coming up in Carcoar, Mogriguy and Trundle, NSW. Find out about how farm dams can be optimised to provide cleaner, healthier water for stock, as well as habitat for wildlife.

https://www.sustainablefarms.org.au/events/

Natural Asset Farming: Creating Productive and Biodiverse Farms

We’re delighted to announce the publication of our new book, Natural Asset Farming. The book provides practical guidance on enhancing seven natural assets on farms, bringing together the stories and experiences of farmers with the results of extensive on-farm research undertaken by Sustainable Farms.

Published by CSIRO Publishing, Natural Asset Farming is authored by four members of the Sustainable Farms team and is now available for purchase.

Find out more here

On the Farm:

Projects to improve natural assets on the farm

Healthy natural assets underpin farm productivity and landscape resilience. Our research, undertaken in partnership with farmers, Landcarers and NRM agencies, explores the benefits of looking after natural assets.

Enhance farm dams

Dams are essential for many farming operations, including for livestock and irrigation. Enhancing a farm dam can lead to improvements in water quality and provide habitat for a wide variety of native wildlife.

Establish shelterbelts

Shelterbelts provide shade and wind protection for livestock, mitigate erosion and slow wind speeds. They also support many species of animals, helping conserve wildlife and contributing to natural pest control on a farm.

Enhance rocky outcrops

Healthy rocky outcrops can boost farm biodiversity, productivity and soil health. Managing rocky outcrops generally requires little ongoing effort or cost.

Protect and restore paddock trees

Scattered paddock trees are vital for agricultural productivity and for the conservation of wildlife. Many of these trees are being lost due to old age, stress and fire, but there are ways to protect and restore paddock trees.

See all on the farm articles

Farmer Stories:

Meet some of our inspiring farmers

See all stories

John and Nicole Hopkins, Allawah

John and Nicole Hopkins run a Simmental Stud on ‘Allawah’, a 1,040 ha grazing and dryland cropping property near Illabo, east of Junee, which also produces lambs, wool and dryland cereal and oilseed crops. John and Nicole Hopkins are a typical farming family of the region. They both work full time on the farm and employ casual staff.

John is on the State and National Council for the Simmental breed. He champions the concepts implemented on Allawah through these forums, and particularly when people come to see their livestock, as well as through their involvement with Landcare and their connections to neighbouring farms.

The Hopkins have battled devastating fires on two separate occasions. After the second fire, instead of re-fencing in the same places as his father had done, they changed where the fences were located. They have since planted extensive areas of native trees and shrubs on Allawah, fencing off corridors and allowing waterways to regenerate John and Nicole are active Landcare members and have hosted a number of field days with Landcare in the past, including workshops for training LLS staff, and trialling rabbit control methods. John also has participated in some short film clips on sustainability with the ANU and Landcare, and is actively involved in supporting policy proposals developed through Sustainable Farms.

Paul and Rachel Graham, Bongongo

Bongongo provides excellent example of riparian and wetland area restoration for species specific management (Booroolong Frog and Macquarie Perch).

Sam and Claire Johnson, Windermere

The Johnsons have implemented shelterbelts, riparian restoration, management and enhancement of native and mixed native pastures, and management of wooded pastures.

Tony and Vicky Geddes, Yallock

Yallock provides examples of restoring and managing existing woodlands, farm dam enhancement and shelterbelts and presents a good example of woodland management conservation in an agricultural landscape.

Farmers have great stories.
Like to share yours?

Have you managed natural assets on your farm and seen results? Perhaps you’ve planted trees or fenced a creekline. What did you notice?

Share your story

Where we work

Sustainable Farms works in the NSW South West Slopes, Central West, Murray-Riverina and north east Victoria. Our project area overlaps extensively with the Murray, Riverina, Central Tablelands, Central West and South East Local Land Services in NSW, and with Goulburn Broken and North East Catchment Management Authorities in Victoria.

Farmer Story