Cattle on Kalgoorlie Highway

The Problem

The safety of both the public and livestock came to the forefront of Kalgoorlie producer Justin Stevens after several incidents and cattle deaths occurred on the highway due to substandard fencing.

Mr Stevens operates ‘Mount Vetters Station’ a 200,000 hectare property on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie. He runs 700 Shorthorn-Droughtmaster X breeders with his wife and five sons.

Due to poor fencing Mr Stevens has lost thousands of dollars’ worth of cattle along the highway where they have pushed through the fence. Many incidents and cattle deaths occur in rural areas such as Kalgoorlie; cattle on highways presents an obvious safety risk that needed to be addressed. Mr Stevens decided action was needed to contain his stock and increase motorist’s safety.

The solution

To contain Mr Stevens livestock, a strong barrier using Warratah posts was established. Due to the harsh conditions in the Kalgoorlie area, Waratah Longlife Blue colour^® iowa barbed wire was used. The Longlife^® coating on the wire will last 9 times longer than standard galvanised and 1.5 times longer than heavy galvanised. The iowa barbed wire used a four-line design. The continuous twist pattern of the iowa bard locks the barbs in place, this limits any potential movement from pressures from livestock against the fence.

Mr Stevens said, “Since its installation in late 2013, the four-line Iowa barb fence has been tested many times and the results have spoken for themselves”.

Advice for farmers, from farmers

“When we were budgeting costs for the fence, we found in the short term the cost of labour and product was more expensive but in the long term it was more cost effective because in our view these products simply last longer than others and require less maintenance.” – Justin Stevens