Five years ago, Inglewood graziers Peter and Julie Ramsey reinstated an original exclusion fence around their 800-hectare property ‘Old Paisley’ and haven’t looked back.
The Ramseys implemented a range of sustainable agricultural practices including exclusion fencing, land rehydration management, rotational grazing, multispecies pasture and dedicating areas of remnant vegetation to ‘Land for Wildlife’.
They replaced the original exclusion fence, dating back to 1927, with the support of Goondiwindi Regional Council and the State Government’s Queensland Feral Pest Initiative, ensuring it deterred wild dogs but allowed native animals to travel underneath.
Peter and Julie believe that together exclusion fencing and land rehydration have been key to their agricultural and environmental gains.
Peter and Julie increased their carrying capacity from just 50 breeding cows to 25 breeding cows and over 700 breeding goats and sheep.
Exclusion fencing has also allowed them to control the wild dog and feral pig populations, achieve better animal health outcomes with improved fertility, animal survival, nutrition and growth and increase water holding capacity and drought proof their property.
Wild dogs present a significant problem in southern Queensland, severely impacting agricultural enterprises and costing the sheep and beef industries between $64 million to $111 million annually through predation, livestock harassment, disease and the cost of control.
Wild dogs also significantly impact biodiversity by predating on native wildlife such as koalas and can spread disease to domestic and native animals.
In the Ramseys’ experience, exclusion fencing has helped not only predator control, but relieved grazing pressure.
Reduced competition from native herbivores for pasture has freed up more pasture for livestock consumption.
The Ramseys have also further increased drought resilience on their property by constructing low profile contour banks to increase soil water infiltration.
This allows infiltration of water into the soil, by slowing the flow of water across the landscape and spreading the water over a wider area.
“Water has gone from leaving the paddock in two hours to about four days,” Peter says.
Peter notes that the increased water retention has significantly increased groundcover and pasture density, while reducing excessive runoff and erosion to further improve productivity and profitability.
