In the heart of cattle finishing country in south east Queensland, graziers Jon and Marina Earl are successfully rearing prime lambs on their Legume property after installing exclusion fencing to control predatory wild dogs. According to Jon, wild dogs are such a massive problem in the local area that many cattle producers are happy if … Read more
Peter and Marie Crook-King and their daughter Julie Brown are optimistic they’ve turned a corner after three tough years of devastating wild dog attacks, thanks in part to the Maremma dogs they have guarding their flock of 2600 Merinos. It’s not before time. In the 2013-14 financial year the Crook-Kings lost 900 adult sheep and … Read more
Coordinated regional groups are an effective method in taking on the wild dog challenge in Queensland. It’s not a new concept, but one Queensland group has proven that good communication and using information collected by the group to make more informed decisions can effectively take control of dog problems. The South Dog Action Working Group … Read more
Morven grazier Tim Williams is running more stock than ever and hasn’t had a problem with wild dogs thanks to a decision to put in exclusion fencing in 2012. He has even increased the carrying capacity of his property ‘Banff Downs’ by more than 10 per cent despite a two and half year dry period, … Read more
When Alan Forrest diversified and introduced goats to his sheep and wool operation in the early 2000s, he also made the move to electric fencing and has not looked back since. Alan is a firm believer that electricity is most cost effective way to maintain the integrity of fencing, by reducing the pressure from both … Read more
A modified feeder design has taken some of the hard work out of feeding cotton seed to ewes for Nindigully producer Jeff Betts. Mr Betts built the feeder from basic materials to solve the labour problems associated with regular feeding of cotton seed, as well as the problems of managing shy feeders during trail-feeding. Jeff … Read more
John and Penny Taylor ‘Accord’, Longreach have replaced one quarter of their boundary fence with electric fencing. The fence has reduced the pressure on their pastures from kangaroos and neighbours stock as well as being an effective barrier for wild dogs. The Taylors plan to extend the electric fencing to other sections of their boundary. … Read more
A very wet season in 2010-11 proved to Brian and Kylie Rutledge of ‘Moble’ near Quilpie that worms can cause losses even in semi-arid regions of Queensland. The Rutledges’ suspected a problem when they observed that their stock were not performing despite the great season. A worm test confirmed the populations were high and sheep … Read more
Bob and Amy Brown from ‘Heather’ near Bollon in south west Queensland early weaned 1300 lambs into an on-farm feedlot for eight weeks during December 2013/January 2014. The benefits of early weaning were better survival rate of the ewes in drought conditions and it also gave the ewes time to recover before next joining. Feeding … Read more
This presentation was prepared and presented by Bruce McLeish at a predator control field day in Inglewood (November 2013). Bruce is the Queensland and New South Wales Wool Manager for Elders Rural Services. He is also a commercial sheep and wool producer with wife Angela and his father at ‘Warahgai’, Karara. In this presentation Bruce … Read more