Agriculture
3 August, 2026
Farmers managing sheep, environment
TRAVELLING through Loddon Shire has become one of the greatest privileges of my work.
TRAVELLING through Loddon Shire has become one of the greatest privileges of my work.
The highways are quiet, with more trucks than cars.
On both sides of the road, the landscape stretches for kilometres, a patchwork of farms, native trees and wide-open skies.
My first real immersion into the lives of farmers. They are entrepreneurs in every sense of the word. They manage complex enterprises, make strategic decisions, adapt to changing markets and weather, employ people, care for the environment and constantly reinvent themselves.
Like every other business owner, they face uncertainty, risk and opportunity.
That is why I believe farmers belong in the broader business community.
As part of this series highlighting businesses participating in the inaugural Loddon Shire Business Expo in September, I met Jo Bear from Bear and Twigg, near Pyramid Hill.
Jo grew up on a sheep farm at Bears Lagoon. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a farmer. But at the time, she believed farming was a man’s profession. Instead, she became a vet and worked locally.
Everything changed when she married Greg Bear.
Greg’s family has farmed this land since the 1870s. He and his brother gradually took over the farm from their parents around the turn of the century, while their wives found their own places within the family business.
Finding her place within the family business was not always easy. The turning point came when the two couples enrolled in a holistic grazing program.
The course taught much more than grazing management, introducing them to a completely different way of thinking about farming.
“We realised we weren’t just managing sheep,” Jo says. “We were managing people, the environment and a business.”
The family introduced clearer governance, with defined roles, regular meetings, shared decision-making, and external business coaches to help guide discussions.
For Jo, it also opened a door. She left her job as a vet and finally became the farmer she had always dreamed of being.
They started using the kitchen table for their monthly business meetings. There is an agenda. Minutes are recorded. Decisions are made. Difficult conversations are addressed respectfully and constructively.
Those systems proved invaluable when the family divided the original farming operation into two independent businesses three years ago.
“The structure allowed us to have the hard conversations respectfully,” Jo says.
Today, the family remains close while both businesses continue to operate successfully.
That decision also marked the beginning of Bear and Twigg as a separate business.
Although sheep still generate around 85 per cent of the business’s income, Bear and Twigg has deliberately diversified.
“We’re good sheep farmers,” Jo says. “But we also realised there are opportunities beyond sheep, and we don’t have to be experts in everything. We can collaborate with people who are.”
Today, the business works with environmental organisations, researchers and specialists to restore native grasslands, improve biodiversity and manage landscapes using sheep as part of the ecological solution.
Additional income comes from environmental stewardship projects, educational workshops, on-farm experiences, camping beside the river and partnerships with organisations including the Murray River Climate Action Group, Youth Take Over and the
University of Melbourne.
“My role is connection,” Jo says with a smile. “Greg is the sheep expert. He’s the chair. I’m the CEO.”
Like many regional businesses, succession remains one of the biggest questions. Jo and Greg have three sons, with their youngest currently working on the farm. Whether the next generation chooses to continue remains uncertain. “We just keep having open conversations”
Jo is looking forward to participating in the inaugural Loddon Shire Business Expo because she believes farmers often underestimate how much they have in common with other business owners.
“It doesn’t matter whether you run a sheep farm, a mechanic’s workshop or a café,” she says. “We all face similar challenges.”
- LUZ RESTREPO
Read More: Loddon Shire