A SOUTH west wool grower is crediting three key pasture and infrastructure developments in helping him continue to operate during persistent dry times.
Duncan Banks, and Gerry Grant, operate the 4000 hectare property, Dunwold, between St George and Dirranbandi, and run under 3000 super fine merino sheep.
While parts of the south west had a break in the season when rain arrived in October, Dunwold is still holding out for a decent fall.
Parts of the property received 40mm in the second last weekend of November but it only helped grow green pick in select areas and some sheep are still being hand fed.
“At the moment we have got under 3000 sheep because we still haven't come out of the drought that started after the last flood in 2012,” Mr Banks said.
While western producers can rely on mulga country to survive the dry, Mr Banks credits a decision to replace their grain growing paddocks and instead plant an old man saltbush plantation in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
“The country was worn out,” Mr Banks said.
“We were some of the first large scale farmers in the area and our country was worn out.”
Mr Banks currently has 1000 hectares of the deep-rooted shrub that is drought tolerant and unaffected by saline soils and shallow water tables.
It has become a vital part of their operation and is managed grazing.
Mr Banks described OMSB as dry country leucaena, which was once native in the Maranoa region more than 100 years ago.
“The only big areas left in Australia are in South Australia,” he said.
“In a normal season it carried three times the stocking rate of the grass country.
“We wouldn’t be in business still (without it).”
Their focus on grazing continued into 2010 when they began constructing an electric exclusion fence to get total grazing pressure control and keep wild dogs and feral pigs away from stock. Mr Banks admits he was also tired of baiting.
By 2012, after being tested by a flood each year, the eight wire fence covered 17km and was 1.5m high with the second and fourth wire from the bottom live.
Roos have since began digging underneath the fence so Mr Banks conducted a 3km trial of double electric offsets. After finding success with the additional wires, he intends to continue it along the entire line.
He said mesh exclusion fencing was never an option on their property.
“When we started in 2010 there was one exclusion fence in Queensland I think,” he said.
“There was one in Augathella that I knew of and you were looking at $10,000/km and we were working on $2200/km for materials (on our electric fence. Now that game has changed.
“The netting wasn't an option in our flooded country.”
In 2009 they also reintroduced maremmas back on to the property and bonded four pups with multiple species for nine months.
That combined with the electric fence has helped them stay pest free, Mr Banks said.