Fencing Biosecure Production Zones and Pest Knockout Grant Program
May 2024
The $3.7 million Fencing Biosecure Production Zones and Pest Knockout Grant program is supporting landholders to manage pest animals, pest plants and control grazing pressure, increasing primary production and providing benefits to the local environment, as well as local communities and economies.
Please note: applications to participate in this program have closed.
How is the program helping landholders in Western NSW?
The program is supporting landholders through on-ground projects including fence construction, implementing best practice grazing management and coordinated pest animal control.
Participating landholders will also receive resources to help build their capacity, knowledge and adoption of biosecurity and sustainable agricultural practices.
The on-ground projects are also assisting landholders and industry prepare for emergency animal disease outbreaks, including foot and mouth disease and lumpy skin disease.
In addition to supporting landholders, the program will benefit the local environment, local communities and stimulate local economies.
Works underway
Local landholders are delivering the projects, with the support of Western Local Land Services. Following a competitive expression of interest process, 9 projects were approved through this program.
The projects will see a total of 376 km of exclusion fencing erected and 331,170 hectares of property enclosed. To date, around 250 km of the 376 km has been constructed.
Participating landholders have reported immediate improvements to their primary production, biosecurity and biodiversity, including Nick Mannion from Lake Wallace Station.
“It’s been very pleasing to see the positive changes come about to our paddocks that are now enclosed behind our exclusion fencing,” Nick said.
“We’ve noticed an increase in our groundcover as we now have greater control over unmanaged grazing pressure from pest animals like feral pigs and native animals like kangaroos and wallabies.
“We are really pleased to see an increase in the abundance of wildlife and birdlife on our property through monitoring cameras we’ve installed as part of the project, particularly in areas where they aren’t known to frequent.
“Getting the balance right between increasing our primary production while also improving biodiversity and the local environment is something we are passionate about.”
Another landholder who installed a monitoring camera as part of his project recorded two wild dogs on his property. Both wild dogs have since been controlled by the landholder.
Find out more about the program
You can get in touch with the team by emailing admin.western@lls.nsw.gov.au
The Fencing Biosecure Production Zones and Pest Knockout Grant Program is part of the NSW Government’s ongoing commitment to biosecurity. The project is being delivered by Local Land Services.