INCREASED problems with wild dogs led to good demand for exclusion fencing products at AgQuip, where fencing businesses took orders worth hundreds of kilometres.
Demand came mainly from the New England and areas of western NSW, where the wild dog populations are the main issue.
Landholders are also looking to keep out kangaroos and pigs to maximise carrying capacity and farm profitability, according to Waratah Fencing territory sales manager James Kennedy.
Mr Kennedy said there was demand from all areas of the state, following many years of exclusion fencing in Queensland.
There was also increased demand following the success of the Wongwibinda cluster fence project which covers more than 9000 hectares east of Guyra.
It’s a big investment, but the latest research shows that for every dollar spent, farmers are seeing a return of $1.49 in the first year.
- James Kennedy, territory sales manager, Waratah Fencing
The 1.6-metre high, 60km long fence around “Lynoch”, “Marysvale”, “Doughboy Mountain”, “Karuah” and Wongwibinda Station was built with $549,839 in government funding, matched by the landholders.
“Most of the enquiry is coming from people in the west, but there’s good demand from farmers in the New England and Gloucester areas to deal with wild dogs,” Mr Kennedy said.
Exclusion fences can cost between $3000 and $10,000 per kilometre, depending on the height, materials and the number and type of wires.
“It’s a big investment, but the latest research shows that for every dollar spent, farmers are seeing a return of $1.49 in the first year,” Mr Kennedy said.
“Not only are these fences keeping wild dogs and preventing stock losses, they’re all limiting the number of kangaroos on a property, which increases the carrying capacity.”
It was a similar story at Clipex, with national sales manager Stafford Olsson fielding interest from all parts of NSW.
He said interest in exclusion fencing was increasing each year.
“We’ve been working in Queensland for a while now and they’re having a lot of success,” Mr Olsson said.
“Once people know that somebody else is putting up an exclusion fence, they’re looking to see what the results are like, and they’re wanting to do something similar.
“Our exclusion fences range from $5000 to $8000 a kilometre, so they’re very cost effective and farmers can justify that expense.”