Money still to be made

Mr Bishop and his wife Kay run 1500 Dorper-cross ewes on their 1620ha property, Homebush, 35km south of Tara, and aim to sell their lambs at 22-24kg dressed direct to Kogan Meats.

Mr Bishop said lamb producers were "spoilt" by high prices of up to $6.20/kg in 2011 and said he would be content to see the market sit consistently at $4/kg or better.

"If prices could stay where they are now then we can still make good money off them," he said.

"At $4/kg there is still more money to be made out of lambs than there is out of cattle, provided we can keep the dogs under control."

Wild dogs have become a major problem for the Bishop family this year.

Mr Bishop said wild dogs had "wiped out" his 2013 crop of 1500 lambs and forced him to call upon Western Downs Regional Council trapper Peter Porter for help.

"So far we have shot and trapped four dogs but according to the cameras that Peter has installed with the traps, there are probably another three or four out there," he said.

"This is the first time we have ever had a problem with dogs.

"Since the wet has been around we've had dogs move in and virtually clean up our whole season of lambs. It has been completely devastating."

Mr Bishop also has 10 donkeys on order to help protect his flock and plans to use electric fencing to keep wild dogs out of his property.

"I want to get rid of the dogs we have first and then we will use electric fencing and donkeys to try and protect the place. We also bait heavily to try and keep them under control."

Mr Bishop said he was determined to resolve his current problems with wild dogs and still believes there is a strong future in the lamb industry. He recently installed a centre pivot irrigation system and intends to grow irrigated forage crops such as sorghum and oats to help finish lambs for market.