“It’s not just the financial aspect, it’s the mental side"

At Gallagher, we're committed to building lasting relationships and protecting what matters most. In August 2022, our CEO Kahl Betham travelled to Australia to meet customer Malcolm (Mal) Healey. Gallagher products protected his farm and family - and himself too.

Mal is a fifth-generation farmer at Box Hill in Turondale, NSW. Along with wife Jodie and his parents Mike and Joy, they run nearly 7,000 superfine Merinos. Mal and Jodie’s six sons are the sixth generation on the 1,530-hectare (3,800-acre) Central Tablelands property, which has been in Mal’s family since the 1850s.

But a jump in the pressure from wild dogs nearly forced them off the land.

For five years until 2017, wild dogs became such a problem that the operation struggled to achieve what it needed to. Mal says: “It’s not just the financial aspect; it’s the mental side, the effect of wild dogs can have a big impact on family and relationships. We had to do something.”

The family met with Gallagher Territory Manager for Central NSW, Brendan Ryan, to design a solution. After seeking advice and seeing different fencing options in action, the Healey’s chose the 660mm Gallagher Westonfence Insulated Suspension Post Leaning Offset to attach to existing fencing.

Mal says installation was not hard.

“I should emphasise that we put it in some pretty horrible spots – some pretty rugged areas. Brendan helped us set up the first energizer, then it was a full-on family effort: basically, the kids, Jodie and me. There is no rocket science to doing it – my seven-year-old son was wiring wires up. So it’s pretty easy and simple.”

Mal says the drought held up progress a bit, with their focus turning to feeding out. “But by then we’d already seen the results by having that back half fenced, so we were doing it. It was either that or we may as well walk away.”

The family has now put up 20 kilometres, going round the entire breeding property. Two Gallagher M5800i Energizers power the fence, one on solar, and one on mains.

“Dogs were the main thing, but the impact that it’s had on stopping the kangaroos is unreal, too. There were paddocks where we used to drive out and see a hundred kangaroos; now you battle to see one. And it stops the pigs. We actually have some feed in our paddocks. The Tumbarumba fellas say it also stops the deer. Eight months previous to putting up the Gallagher Westonfence, we would have had eight different dogs on cameras. Not now. It’s amazing, all wires down low, done properly, it’s a great product.”

For Mal and Jodie, perhaps the fencing’s biggest impact on the day-to-day management of their farm has been it means they can sleep at night.

“It removes the stress out of things. Like I said, at times it can really have a big impact on family and relationships – the mental side is huge. Then there’s also the financial side: two years ago – just some rough figures that I had done – we’d lost nearly $600,000 [AUD] worth of sheep. People don’t realise that it’s the impact down the track that costs as well; the dogs meant we haven’t got the old sheep to sell while the money market’s as good as it is.”

Pictured (left to right): Gallagher CEO Kahl Betham, customer Malcolm Healey, and Gallagher Territory Manager Brendan Ryan.

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