A $500,000 effort to reduce wild dog attacks in western NSW will roll out in the field from Dubbo.
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The city was chosen as the base for a co-ordinator of a program, the first of its kind, aimed at sparing the sheep industry.
It could prove a breakthrough, with graziers in the Dubbo region previously reporting damage to stock, estimated in some cases to run into thousands of dollars.
The NSW Farmers' Association secured industry funding from Australian Wool Innovation to implement what it called the "innovative new project" and foreshadowed further efforts across the state.
Association president Fiona Simson said wild dogs - defined as any dog, including a dingo, that is or has become wild - were an enormous problem not only across NSW but also across the country.
An expert advisory committee would meet within weeks and the coordinator position would be advertised and appointed shortly after, the leader of the peak body said.
"We are in the business of looking for solutions for farmers," Ms Simson said.
"Co-ordination is particularly important in areas such as western NSW where distances to travel are greater and there are a larger number of absentee landowners.
"The role of the co-ordinator will be to work with all key stakeholders and to complement existing projects to achieve on-the-ground outcomes to combat wild dog predation."
Ms Simson acknowledged the role would be challenging but said the co-ordinator would be well supported by an expert advisory committee and NSW Farmers' Association staff.
"Being based in Dubbo, the co-ordinator will have access to networks of government agencies that are active in wild dog control such as the Livestock Health and Pest Authority (LHPA) and the Department of Primary Industries - also partners in the project," she said.
About five years ago a farmer near Mendooran shot a wild dog that had killed about 100 sheep.
DNA testing of the animal came back positive for dingo, the LHPA confirmed.
Since then sheep producers within 50 kilometres of Dubbo, in both north-westerly and north-easterly directions, have told the Daily Liberal of attacks by wild dogs.
Wild dogs were a 'declared pest animal' under the Rural Lands Protection Board Act 1998 but did not include any dog kept in accordance with the Companion Animals Act 1998, the Exhibited Animals Protection Act 1986, or the Animal Research Act 1985.
