An economic analysis of cell-fencing in semi-arid rangelands

Stuart J. Dawson; Tracey L. Kreplins; Malcolm S. Kennedy; Santhi Wicks; Patricia A. Fleming

doi:10.1071/RJ24023

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Next Contents Vol 47(2)

An economic analysis of cell-fencing in semi-arid rangelands

Stuart J. Dawson

^A ^E ^* , Tracey L. Kreplins ^B , Malcolm S. Kennedy ^C , Santhi Wicks ^D and Patricia A. Fleming

^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Perth, WA 6150, Australia.

^B Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Northam, WA 6401, Australia.

^C Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.

^D Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Newcastle West, NSW 2302, Australia.

^E Present Address: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: stuart.dawson@dpird.wa.gov.au

The Rangeland Journal 47, RJ24023 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ24023

Submitted: 27 June 2024 Accepted: 12 January 2025 Published: 13 February 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Rangeland Society. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

In Australia, livestock predation by dingoes (Canis familiaris) has contributed to what some livestock producers consider a dire situation for rangeland pastoralism, driving demand for cooperative regional-scale exclusion (‘cell’) fencing (i.e. pest-proof fences that encompass one or more individual properties) and landscape-scale predator control. The present case study predicted the effect of four cell-fences in the state of Western Australia (WA) on the gross margin of sheep (for meat or meat and wool) and cattle pastoral enterprises. We modelled the potential effects of the following four key variables: (1) four levels of commodity prices, (2) five levels of livestock weaning rate (based on livestock records collected 1985–1995; weaning rate is defined as number of lambs or calves that are born and survive to weaning, expressed as percentage of total mated females), (3) three predicted levels of time required to remove dingoes from within the fenced area, and (4) five levels of macropod (mainly kangaroo) response as competitive grazers, with a total of 3600 scenarios representing all combinations of these factors. Each scenario was assessed for profitability (i.e. net present value (NPV) over 25 years) and benefit of fencing (i.e. NPV compared with an unfenced enterprise of the same livestock type, region, and commodity prices). Finally, the benefit–cost ratio (BCR) of investment in cell fencing was calculated for each fenced scenario. The majority (67%) of scenarios representing continuation of current management (i.e. no cell fencing) returned a negative NPV (i.e. livestock enterprises were projected to make a loss). However, only 37.4% of cell-fenced scenarios returned a positive NPV, meaning that even with a cell-fence and successful removal of dingoes, the enterprise was still unlikely to be profitable. Only 43.4% of cell-fenced scenarios returned a BCR of cell fencing greater than one. Weaning rate following dingo removal was the most important factor determining return on investment for cell-fencing. Survival and reproduction of small livestock, particularly wool sheep, benefit most from cell-fencing, whereas cell-fencing and dingo removal did not result in greater profits for cattle enterprises. Running sheep for wool and meat within cell fencing coupled with removal of dingoes would maximise the likelihood of achieving a positive return on investment in cell fencing (although the enterprise may remain unprofitable overall); otherwise, unfenced enterprises affected by dingoes should run cattle as this will be more profitable.

Keywords: cattle, cluster fencing, cost–benefit analysis, dingo, exclusion, pastoral, predator, sheep, wild dog.

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