29th Farm Biosecurity News
December 2010
Focusing on: Australia’s Biosecurity Farmer of the Year finalists
Putting money in your pocket
You would be hard pressed to find a sheep or cow in the country that would not trade places to live at Bally Glunin Park, near Hamilton in Victoria’s southwest. This is home to Australia’s first Biosecurity Farmer of the Year – livestock category, Michael Blake, who also took home Wool Producer of the Year at this year’s Australian Farmer of the Year Awards.
Michael and his wife Cathy run a combination of 10,000 superfine Merinos, 2,000 crossbred sheep and 140 Hereford and Limousin cattle on their 1,800-hectare property. And this year they are set to harvest around 200 tonnes of oats as part of their pasture renovation program and another 300 tonnes of oaten hay to be used on the property for fodder over winter.
Although this might sound like a fairly typical southern Australian farming operation, what is not typical is how Michael incorporates biosecurity and quality assurance into every facet of this highly productive and reputable farming business—from his superfine Merino wool supplying the niche Italian apparel and European Eco Wool markets, to his Meat Standards Australia (MSA) quality beef destined for Europe and even his own cereal and hay crops used on-farm.
Michael developed an interest in quality assurance after a stint working in the glass manufacturing industry. When he returned home to the family farm in the early 1970s, he adopted the relevant quality assurance practices to form the basis of a farm plan that would take the business to the highest levels of productivity, biosecurity, environmental sustainability and animal welfare.
With a genuine drive for excellence, Bally Glunin Park now complies with at least 12 quality assurance programs—many which were originally piloted on the property—in efforts to guarantee each product reaches the highest and safest standards when it comes to preparation, presentation and delivery.
To ensure that Bally Glunin Park remained weed, pest and disease free well into the future, Michael started operating largely as a ‘closed farm’. Rams and bulls are now only ever purchased from reputable breeders and are always spelled in isolation paddocks and carefully monitored for health problems before being integrated with other livestock. He also makes sure his boundaries are well maintained and secure, and that all visitors enter the property through one controlled entry/exit point after seeking permission and having their vehicles washed at the local saleyards and inspected on entry.
To view the complete article, please visit: http://www.farmbiosecurity.com.au/aahc/index.cfm?0AF1B341-5056-8A5D-8764-23DD0F8EBF8C
Blue ribbon biosecurity recognised
Lachlan Dobson, a fruit grower farming in the Ord River Irrigation Area of Kununurra, Western Australia, is the 2010 Biosecurity Farmer of the Year – plant category.
With Timor only 500 kilometres off the coast, exotic pests are an ever-present threat to Lachlan’s 120,000 mango trees and 80,000 red flesh grapefruit trees. To combat the threat he has implemented a rigorous and integrated regime that sees biosecurity paramount on his farm – Kimberly Produce.
Biosecurity can be summed up as the measures taken to exclude, manage and eradicate unwanted biological pests and diseases.
Lachlan was named Biosecurity Farmer of the Year – plant category at a gala dinner held in Sydney last September. The honour was part of Kondinin Group and ABC Rural’s Australian Farmer Year of the Awards, proudly sponsored by Plant Health Australia as part of the Farm Biosecurity initiative.
Plant Health Australia Executive Director and CEO, Greg Fraser, congratulated Lachlan on his commitment to biosecurity.
“Each day, farmers in northern Australia face the chance of pest and disease incursions. Lachlan is leading the way in demonstrating how best-practice biosecurity measures, such as undertaking regular surveillance, controlling people and product movement onto and around the property, promoting good hygiene through all parts of the farm operation, and implementing educational induction programs for staff members, can assure the long-term viability of primary production in this region.”
To view the complete article, please visit: http://www.farmbiosecurity.com.au/aahc/index.cfm?0AFC72B8-5056-8A5D-87E8-6CC02F3BF884
Photo credit: The West Australian newspaper
Insurance for your farm and your future
Beef production is big business in Australia. With around 700 accredited feedlots now across the country, sharing an annual production value of around $2.7 billion, this growing livestock industry knows just how important biosecurity is in maintaining Australia’s world-leading reputation for clean, safe, disease-free beef. For 2010 Biosecurity Farmer of the Year finalist, Kerwee Lot Feeders, of Jondaryan in South East Queensland, biosecurity is part of their everyday thinking and is one form of insurance their business cannot ignore.
The small, family-owned grain feeding facility is licensed to run around 9,171 standard cattle units and employs 11 full time people all year round. Specialising in the chilled, grain-fed, beef trade, Kerwee exports to around 37 countries including the United States, Japan, Korea, South East Asia, Indonesia, China, Russia and the Middle East.
Kerwee first introduced biosecurity practices to their quality assurance program around eight years ago in response to the organisation’s first expansion phase. Since then, the small business has developed a comprehensive biosecurity program to minimise the introduction of pests, weeds and disease, along with an emergency response plan designed to enable them to respond quickly and effectively in a potential biosecurity crisis.
The feedlot’s general manager, Jim Cudmore, says biosecurity is now firmly entrenched in the day-to-day management of the operation, focusing strongly on boundary security, visitor monitoring, livestock and commodity assessment and on-going training of employees, contractors and business associates.
As the feedlot is located next door to a popular Queensland tourist attraction, developing a thorough, yet manageable, process to assess the biosecurity risk of both drop-in tourists and business-related visitors was the first thing on the list.
“Because we are largely an export-focussed business, we are also very vigilant about overseas customers and visitors that view our operation firsthand. We have actually knocked back important customer groups from visiting here because they haven’t passed the Visitor Biosecurity Risk Assessment,” he said. “Recently we stopped a visit from an important delegation of Japanese customers coming here—a couple of them had come from the Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan where the foot and mouth outbreak was in April this year, so we decided to stop the whole group from visiting Kerwee. That might seem a bit extreme, but with a disease risk like foot and mouth, it is just sensible.”
Jim says they are extremely vigilant when monitoring for weeds, pests and disease and only purchase stock and feed with the relevant vendor declaration documentation. They also carryout sample analysis testing on feed brought on-site and conduct visual assessments of cattle on arrival and departure, as well as assessments for all machinery, vehicles and people entering the property.
To view the complete article, please visit: http://www.farmbiosecurity.com.au/aahc/index.cfm?0B78C12A-5056-8A5D-87AF-9DC929C025D7
Angus Woods leads biosecurity practice
Thinking about biosecurity in day-to-day farming operations has been vital to the success of the 12,000 hectares owned and operated by Queensland grain grower and 2010 Australian Biosecurity Farmer of the Year finalist, Angus Woods.
The on-farm biosecurity practices adopted by Mr Woods and his family provide effective models for other Australian grain growers to follow. When combined, these practices create an effective framework – one that demonstrates how farm hygiene and biosecurity measures can be implemented into daily activities of large farming enterprises without compromising efficiency.
“In our business, biosecurity activities are not a big deal, they’re just good practice. Because crops are targeted for seed and other high value markets, we recognised the importance of protecting our property from pests and diseases,” says Mr Woods.
The 2010 Australian Biosecurity Farmer of the Year Awards, proudly supported by Plant Health Australia (PHA) and Animal Health Australia (AHA) under the Farm Biosecurity initiative, promoted an up-to-the-minute, positive image of farmers while recognising producers who inspire other farmers and encourage investment in Australian agriculture.
Angus’ dedication to maintaining good biosecurity practices on-farm highlights the fact that biosecurity makes good business sense. It is hoped that other farmers will follow Angus’ lead and see the value of implementing good biosecurity practices, while finding out more about what can be done to manage pest, disease and weed threats.
Mr Woods’ company, Woods Pastoral, is the farming component of the larger, Australian agribusiness company, The Woods Group. Woods Pastoral specialises in the production of cereal and pulse crops into high value markets such as seed for sowing, containerised exports and stock feed. The main crops grown are wheat, sorghum, chickpeas and barley.
Woods Pastoral is comprised of four key farms located in the highly productive and premium grain growing region of Southern Queensland, just 45km north of Goondiwindi.
“Having a large operation spread across the four properties means we often share machinery and use quite a few different contractors when we plant and harvest the crops,” says Mr Woods.
“We recognised that the size of the enterprise could potentially threaten its biosecurity, via the contamination of seeds and the introduction of pests and diseases on equipment for example.”
In order to safeguard his properties from pests and diseases, Mr Woods developed and implemented his own biosecurity initiative – a Full Traceability and Quality Assurance (FTQA) System.
To view the complete article, please visit: http://www.farmbiosecurity.com.au/aahc/index.cfm?0B0A22DE-5056-8A5D-87DE-4B81C2502A2A
It’s helping farmers grow
New South Wales sheep producer and 2010 Biosecurity Farmer of the Year finalist, Terry Hayes, was a pioneer of biosecurity farming practices long before he knew what the term meant. Over the past four decades he has been heavily involved in plant and animal health measures that have helped improve the lives and businesses of many farmers and rural communities across the country.
Being a third generation farmer on his grazing property at Middle Arm, near Goulburn in the Southern Tablelands, Terry grew-up on the land understanding his father’s fights and frustrations with ongoing rabbit control. However, it was during the mid 1970s and 1980s that he was involved in his own biosecurity project to control hydatid disease—a serious condition carried by tapeworms causing cysts in the internal organs of humans, which can reduce the value of livestock. It is a preventable cycle caused by dogs eating offal from sheep and passing the tapeworm eggs on to people.
Terry says the successful program taught people to feed prepared food to their dogs, worm them regularly and to adopt good hygiene practices. It resulted in widespread behavioural change throughout the region, with hydatid disease virtually dropping off the radar in the Goulburn area.
Terry’s next, and most high-profile, contribution to biosecurity was his committed involvement with ovine Johne’s disease (OJD). After his flock tested positive for the disease in 1995, Terry became frustrated by the regulatory process and lack of information available to producers, and worked to find his own information, solutions and networks.
He became actively involved in a local producer group that enabled producers to talk openly, which he believes was “a very important part of the disease management process”. He was also a producer representative on the New South Wales OJD Advisory Committee. For a number of years Terry travelled extensively throughout New South Wales and to South Australia, talking with animal health experts about OJD and sharing his experience with other producers. From 1998 to 2004, Terry formed an agreement with researchers from the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute and became heavily involved with extensive trials on his property, many which can be attributed to underlying much of today’s knowledge of the disease.
To view the complete article, please visit: http://www.farmbiosecurity.com.au/aahc/index.cfm?0B664693-5056-8A5D-877E-AFC687526975
Sunshine Coast shines light on better biosecurity
Peter and Sandra Young’s holistic approach to biosecurity has rendered them champions of the Australian agricultural industry and finalists in this years inaugural Australian Biosecurity Farmer of the Year Awards.
On-farm biosecurity protects livelihoods, industries and communities. This is a major reason why it has long been at the forefront of operations at the Sunshine Coast’s Birdwood Nursery Fruit Trees.
Birdwood Nursery Fruit Trees is a production nursery situated on 60 acres in Woombye, Queensland. The nursery was initially purpose built by owners Peter and Sandra to produce avocado trees tested free from root rot disease (Phytophthora cinnamomi).
The Australian Biosecurity Farmer of the Year Awards, held last September and proudly supported by Plant Health Australia (PHA), promoted an up-to-the-minute, positive image of farmers while recognising producers who inspire other farmers and encourage investment in Australian agriculture.
Peter and Sandra’s commitment to improving biosecurity practices on their property demonstrates a significant return for their efforts and highlights the fact that biosecurity makes good business sense. Following their lead, it is hoped that others too will see the value of implementing good biosecurity practices on their properties and to find out more about what can be done to manage pest, disease and weed threats.
To view the complete article, please visit: http://www.farmbiosecurity.com.au/aahc/index.cfm?0B74AECF-5056-8A5D-873F-B195F2A00034
Biosecurity developments and member news
PHA Bolts into Online Training
Minimising the biosecurity risks posed by insects, diseases and weeds that are found overseas or are new to Australia is a key focus for Australia’s plant industries. To assist stakeholders maintain Australia’s world-class biosecurity system that protects our agricultural and horticultural sectors, Plant Health Australia (PHA) has launched Biosecurity Online Training (BOLT).
“Those who use BOLT will learn the essentials about the way Australia’s biosecurity system operates,” says Greg Fraser, Executive Director and CEO of PHA. “They will also learn about the internationally regarded emergency response arrangements in place to tackle new pest incursions and, importantly, who’s who in plant biosecurity and the various roles and responsibilities held.”
“Anyone involved in agriculture, horticulture or forestry will benefit from getting on board with BOLT,” according to Dr Stephen Dibley, PHA Program Manager (Training and Biosecurity Preparedness). “Whether you work within government on biosecurity, are in a decision making or support position within industry, or are a primary producer, BOLT provides essential information in an accessible form.
“It’s not training in the traditional sense where all components must be completed. Users can pick and choose the material from the sections that are most relevant to them, with modules being able to be finished in under an hour.”
BOLT demonstrates how industries are integrally involved in responses to new pests. Under the agreed arrangements of the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD), all affected parties, both government and industry, share responsibilities in determining if a response will happen and, if so, how it will work. The EPPRD is a legally binding agreement between industry and governments covering the management and funding of responses to emergency plant pest incidents and includes provisions for reimbursements to owners who are directly affected by the response.
Twenty six plant industries are signatories to the EPPRD, and each plays a crucial role in responding to exotic pest incursions. To be effective in protecting Australia’s plant industries, all stakeholders, from growers to executives, need to know where they fit in the national biosecurity system. They also require open and free access to information and a sound knowledge of their roles and responsibilities. BOLT provides all this information free of charge in a user-friendly format.
According to Dr Dibley, “through the development of Industry Biosecurity Plans, PHA’s Members have identified over 2,300 different exotic plant pest threats with the capacity to devastate Australia’s plant industries. To ensure pests such as the Khapra beetle, the American leafminer, the Glassy-winged sharpshooter and Texas root rot don’t establish themselves here, growers, industries and governments need to work together.
“For this partnership to be effective, knowledge of the system is required by everyone across the biosecurity continuum. Free and open access to this information is really what BOLT is all about.”
Access to PHA’s BOLT is free, open to all stakeholders and can be found at the PHA website at www.planthealthaustralia.com.au/training.
Farm Biosecurity Media Snapshot
Local news…
Onion grower honoured for industry service
A South East farmer has been awarded for his outstanding contributions to the Australian onion industry.
Roadblock decision delayed
The state Government has postponed a decision to close the overnight roadblock shifts at Yamba and Ceduna until June 2011.
Stop the spread of weeds on Brisbane’s north side
The message from Biosecurity Queensland is simple – you can’t kill weeds if you don’t know what they look like. As the weather heats up during summer and …
Tableland growers told biosecurity not always good
And biosecurity is also an issue for many farmers. Lakeland organic farmer Maria Lorenzo said to be viable, she needed at least 200 laying hens but she had…
Around the world…
Action needed to stop Argentine ants spread
ARGENTINE ants are posing a real threat to the Gisborne region so the council has appointed a new co-ordinator to offer advice on how to eradicate them.
Clearing infected forests
The timber, Japanese larch, is still valuable and can be sold to licensed sawmills provided the correct biosecurity measures are followed…
Invasive species have a ‘delayed legacy’, says report
The full impact of an alien species on an area’s habitat may not come to light until decades after its intentional introduction, a report has warned…
Norway funds bio-security project in Vietnam
The project targets at improving standards for the management of bio-safety and bio-security and to increase its management capacity in laboratories at NIHE…
Poultry Farm Quarantined
A Manitoba poultry farm involved in the H5N2 avian influenza investigation was quarantined after a reporter breached biosecurity standards…