The $25 million project to rebuild South Australia's 100-year-old dog fence is getting underway to help farmers keep out feral animals and save millions of dollars in lost stock.
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The 1600 kilometre upgrade begins on Tuesday and is one of the state's biggest infrastructure projects.
Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the rebuild was estimated to reduce the number of sheep losses and subsequently increase income for farmers.
"Farmers, land managers and pastoralists will save up to $97 million in wild dog management costs over 20 years," Minister Littleproud said.
"This is going to be a gamechanger for South Australian agriculture and these are exactly the types of projects we need to help kickstart the nation post-COVID."
SA Regional Development Minister Tim Whetstone said the project would allow farmers to save more money and would benefit the local economy through creating jobs.
"This will be a mighty boon for our farmers who will save millions in pest animal management costs and enable farmers to safely restock properties with sheep," he said.
The 5400km Dog Fence is the world's longest continuous fence, with about 2150km on South Australian land.
Of that, about 1600km is more than 100 years old.
The federal and state governments are each contributing $10 million for the project with the additional $5 illion funded through industry.
Australian Associated Press
