GRAZIERS across the southwest are biting back, with large swathes of cluster fencing to be erected in the hope of curbing continued wild dog attacks across the region.

A new joint project between the Maranoa Regional Council and the Balonne Shire Council will deliver 235 kms of exclusion fencing for wild dog control, delivering much-needed respite to long suffering primary producers.

Maranoa Councillor, Wendy Newman, whose portfolio covers rural services, said that action needed to be taken after the entire southwest has been devastated from attacks.

"They're not a minor inconvenience; they have totally changed farming practices across our area,” she said.

"People couldn't afford to keep sheep because of the losses they were experiencing.”

Cr Newman said that the sheer demand for more cluster fencing was an indication of its effectiveness.

"For this round of funding, we had a large number of applicants and I think that reflects that people are seeing just how successful exclusion fencing is proving to be.”

More fencing could breathe new life back into former sheep communities, according to Cr Newman.

"Once upon a time, there were three different sheering teams based in Surat and today, the town mainly focuses on cattle and grain,” she said.

"There's many people in town, if given the opportunity to get back into sheep production would do so immediately.”

Mayor of the Balonne Shire Council, Richard Marsh said the benefits of cluster fencing lies in the vast distances it can safe keep from wild dogs.

"The advantage of cluster fencing is that it is done over a large area with a maximum scale somewhere in the vicinity of 200,000ha,” he said.

"While this a fair size, it's still small enough to being able to get in and eradicate the dogs from that area rather than chase them all over the open space.”

It is hoped that with further cluster fencing, graziers who may have been put off by significant losses will be encouraged to re-stock their sheep numbers.

"The Balonne and neighbouring regions suffer severely from the pimelea weed which has a significant impact on cattle whereas it doesn't impact sheep as much,” Cr Marsh said.

"We see that if we can provide protection from dogs, then graziers will go back into sheep, as that particular animal, like cattle, provides a good return on investment.”