ABOVE: Economic costs of damage caused by feral pigs are not being routinely or consistently collected by most management programs. Photo credit: Midwest Biosecurity Group
In March 2024, North West Local Land Services released the third and final seasonal cost benefit analysis report of feral pig damage to farmers in northwest NSW.
This work, conducted by AgEcon on North West LLS’s behalf, was done to measure progress against the objective of North West LLS’s 2018-23 Regional Pest Management Plan to reduce production losses from feral pigs by 10 percent in active control areas.
This final report details estimated economic impacts to agricultural productivity due to feral pig activity in winter 2022 and summer 2022-23 in the northwest region of NSW.
A total of 49 land managers and agronomists participated in the survey, distributed in August 2023, to obtain information across 13 agricultural enterprises across 466,304ha.
Land area covered included 109,000ha of grazing land, 88,000ha of cropping land and 269,000ha of unutilised timber/scrub/riparian area.
Thirty respondents also completed the 2022 survey.
The following enterprises were assessed – barley for grain, canola, chickpeas, cotton lint (irrigated), cotton lint (dryland), faba beans, grain in storage, hay, maize for grain, sorghum for grain, wheat for grain, and sheep and lambs.
Reflective of favourable seasonal conditions for feral pigs, with plentiful water, food and shelter available, 100 percent of the survey respondents reported feral pig presence on their properties.
High feral pig abundance was reported by 63 percent of respondents, where high was described as ‘many animals seen at any time and much active sign – significant sign of animals on more than 80 percent of occasions’, an increase of 36 percent compared with 2021-22 survey.
Only 8 percent of respondents indicated that feral pig abundance was low in 2022-23 – low -few sightings, little active sign.
These findings were in line with the 2023 updated map of relative abundance and distribution change 2020-23 recently released by NSW Department of Primary Industries (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Feral pig relative abundance 2023 and distribution change 2020-23. Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries
Losses experienced by producers across northwest NSW during the study period reflect the high yields of summer crops and above average winter yields, despite unusual wet weather and widespread late season floods, as well as high commodity prices for all crops, except cotton and canola.
Table 1 shows that economic losses per hectare from feral pigs during 2022-23 were higher for barley, chickpeas, faba beans, maize, sorghum, sheep and wheat compared with 2021-22.
Across the region, lamb losses were estimated to be slightly over $10 million, based on a predation rate of 12 percent and an opportunity cost of $171 per head for each lamb lost.
While 31 percent of respondents reported losses to cattle enterprises due to feral pigs, these were not included in the analysis.
Impacts reported by respondents included destruction of pastures and grazing crops, as well as reduced breeder productivity due to disease transmission to cattle from feral pigs, including leptospirosis.
Across all enterprises assessed, the total average regional loss to agriculture due to feral pig activity for winter and summer seasons during 2022-23 was estimated at $62.35 million – an increase of 10.3 percent compared with 2021-22 and 32 percent compared with 2020-21.
These loss estimates did not include losses to infrastructure caused by feral pigs such as fencing and irrigation systems (see Table 1).
Economic costs of damage caused by feral pigs are not being routinely or consistently collected by most management programs.
It is noteworthy that these regional estimates of damage in northwest NSW are markedly higher than the national estimate of feral pig damage to agriculture reported by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resource Economics and Sciences in November 2023.
Private expenditure on feral pig management was estimated by ABARES at $110 million, while the average residual agricultural losses to major production systems over five years was estimated at $46 million.
ABARES utilised private landholder responses to the ABARES 2019 pest animal and weed management survey in their analysis, reflecting the significant lack of sources of reliable data.
Table 1: Economic losses and anticipated damage from feral pigs and estimated regional losses for 2021 to 2023.
While this national estimate represented the best high-level estimates currently available, there is considerable uncertainty in these estimates.
These low national estimates could unfortunately downplay the need for ongoing support for coordinated and collaborative action by all land managers to reduce impacts and risks from feral pigs.
This average cost of control, estimated at $5.92 per hectare was applied across a two million hectare land area to determine benefits of feral pig control across the study area.
When both baiting with 1080 and aerial shooting are used to control feral pigs, estimated at 60 percent effectiveness in removing populations, the net benefit of control was estimated at $23 million.
Importantly, similar levels of effectiveness can also be achieved when a combination of the strategically targeted measures are used on an area-wide scale in a long-term control program.
This illustrates the value obtained when the majority of land managers participate in coordinated and collaborative feral pig management programs and remain active over long periods of time.
A total of 55 percent and 54 percent of respondents were involved in area-wide management programs – mostly organised locally – during winter 2022 and summer 2022-23 respectively to control feral pigs.
It was found that 95 percent of respondents had used the broad range of control methods to manage feral pig populations and their impacts, with an average of three methods being used.
Overall, this study identified that the objective of North West LLS region to reduce production losses by 10 percent across the region was unfortunately not achieved.
Frustratingly, feral pig populations were considered to have increased despite concerted increases in land manager efforts to manage them.
This suggests that current approaches and strategies being applied in this region may not be as effective as they need to be.
Knowing how to adapt these to improve the effectiveness of control programs remains a key challenge and needs ongoing concerted attention.
If you would like to read the 2022-23 report, it can be accessed via agecon.com.au/economic-benefits-of-feral-pig-control
Feel free to contact me on heather.channon@feralpigs.com.au or call 0423 056 045 to discuss your feral pig management issues or any information presented in this article.
