Fencing in Drought — Managing Stock With Less Paddock

Drought changes the rules. When there's no feed in the paddock, your beautiful 6-paddock rotational grazing system becomes irrelevant and you shift to survival mode. Fencing plays a critical role in drought management — both in how you use existing fences and where you might need temporary new ones.

CONTAINMENT FEEDING: THE FENCING ANGLE

Containment feeding — confining stock to a small area and hand-feeding — is now the standard drought management approach recommended by LLS and DPI. Instead of letting stock wander across bare paddocks destroying groundcover, you pull them into a sacrifice paddock where they're fed and the rest of the property is destocked to allow recovery.

The sacrifice paddock needs specific fencing:

Size: Typically 1-3 acres per 100 head of cattle, or 0.5-1 acre per 100 sheep. Small enough to manage but big enough for stock welfare.

Standard: The fence needs to be solid. Stressed, hungry stock push harder on fences than well-fed stock. They want to get out to where they think feed is. Standard mesh with heavy pickets at tight spacing (4m) is minimum.

Access: You need vehicle access for feed delivery — think about gate positions for trucks or tractors with feed wagons. A single 12ft gate isn't enough if you're driving a truck in daily. Consider a 16ft gate ($200) or twin 12ft gates.

Water: Reliable water access inside the containment area is essential. Fence around existing water points.

Sacrifice area: The ground inside the containment paddock will be destroyed. Accept that. Choose an area you're willing to sacrifice — not your best pasture, not near waterways. A higher, well-drained area close to yards and water is ideal.

TEMPORARY FENCING FOR DROUGHT

Drought often requires temporary fencing that wasn't in the plan:

Sacrifice paddock: If you don't have a suitable existing small paddock, you'll need to create one. Electric fencing is the fastest and cheapest option — three strands of electric on tread-in posts can create a containment area in a day.

Feed trail restriction: In drought, stock walk long distances looking for feed, creating trails that cause erosion. Temporary fencing to shorten the distance between water and feeding areas reduces trail damage.

Destocking barriers: When you sell part of the mob, you may need to temporarily separate stock in ways your current paddock layout doesn't allow. Electric subdivision lets you create holding paddocks quickly.

PROTECTING PASTURE WITH FENCING

The most valuable thing on your property during drought isn't stock — it's groundcover. Every blade of grass and every scrap of stubble protects the soil from erosion and is the foundation for recovery when rain comes.

Fencing plays a critical role in pasture protection:

Lock up paddocks early: Don't wait until the paddock is bare to destock it. When groundcover drops below 70%, move stock out. Lock the gate and leave it. The pasture you preserve now will recover months faster after rain.

Protect creek lines and dams: Stock congregate around water in drought, destroying the vegetation around waterways and dams. Temporary fencing to create a fenced-off watering point (where stock can access water but can't loiter on the banks) protects these critical areas.

Fence off any green pick: After patchy rain, small areas of green growth attract stock from across the paddock. That green pick is trampled and overgrazed within days. Fence it off with temporary electric to let it establish and build groundcover.

MANAGING EXISTING FENCES IN DROUGHT

Drought affects fences too:

Dry soil loses grip on pickets. In extended dry, soil contracts and pickets can loosen. Push-test pickets after extended dry periods and redrive any that are loose.

Mesh can tighten in heat. Hot, dry weather heats the wire, causing expansion. This can seem counterintuitive (heat = expansion = looser) but solar heating of dark wire can cause uneven expansion that stresses mesh clips and joins.

Roo pressure increases. During drought, kangaroos concentrate around any remaining feed and water. More roos hitting more fences means more damage. Budget for additional roo repairs during dry years.

COST-EFFECTIVE DROUGHT FENCING

When cash is tight (and it always is in drought), every dollar counts:

• Electric containment fencing: approximately $1.00-$1.50/m — cheapest option for temporary work
• Reuse old pickets and wire for temporary internal fences
• Our budget-friendly 165cm black bitumen pickets at $8.50 each work perfectly for temporary containment
• Polywire and tread-in posts are reusable — they can come down and go up somewhere else next drought

Don't spend big on temporary drought fencing. It doesn't need to be pretty or permanent. It needs to work right now and be easy to move when conditions change.

PLANNING FOR THE NEXT DROUGHT

When rain eventually comes and recovery begins, build drought preparedness into your permanent fencing plan:

• Create one or two permanent containment paddocks near yards and water
• Install permanent laneways so you can move stock without temporary fencing
• Build extra water access points with fencing that allows controlled grazing access
• Maintain a stockpile of electric fencing gear for rapid deployment

Need drought fencing materials in a hurry? We carry electric fencing supplies, temporary posts, and all standard fencing materials. Call 0434 093 077 or come to 76 Astill Drive, Orange.