against diseases, pests and weeds
against diseases, pests and weeds
against diseases, pests and weeds
Farm biosecurity is a set of measures designed to protect a property from the entry and spread of pests and diseases. Farm biosecurity is your responsibility, and that of every person visiting or working on your property.
Learn moreWe have tools, tips and manuals to help you implement farm biosecurity on your property. You will also find individual profiles for a range of livestock and crops: or you can create a profile tailored to your farm.
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Learn moreThe best defence against pests and diseases is to implement sound biosecurity practices on your farm. Quick and simple measures built into everyday practice will help protect your farm and your future.
Almost anything moved onto your property can be a potential source of pests and diseases for livestock and plants. Monitor animals or plant materials that enter the property, as well as sources of water, feed and fertiliser.
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Responsibility for biosecurity doesn’t end when plant products or animals leave the farm gate. The measures in place on your property support biosecurity in your region.
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Feral animals, plant pests and weeds are a widespread nuisance but can also cause harm to your business, so they need to be actively controlled.
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If it can move, it can carry diseases, pests and weeds. That's why people, vehicles and equipment pose a high biosecurity risk and should be managed accordingly.
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Good on-farm hygiene reduces the risk of spreading pests and diseases. You can implement simple hygiene practices with feed and water sources, product packaging, storage facilities, livestock husbandry, waste materials and plant propagation.
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Ensure that staff are well trained and that you have the ability to trace where animals or plants have come from and where they went. Keep accurate records of purchases, sales and movements.
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With many sheep producing regions across Australia receiving rainfall through January to March, Animal Health Australia (AHA) is reminding producers to be vigilant about virulent footrot. Virulent footrot spreads and expresses in the warm and moist conditions which are prevalent in many regions right now.
All livestock producers will be familiar with managing parasites. Monitoring, preventing spread and treatment are routine practices on many farms. Rightly so, too, as parasite burdens slow the growth of animals, negatively impact their health and welfare, and reduce productivity.
Many important crop pests and diseases such as rusts, viruses, slugs, snails, mites and aphids survive in the green bridge and affect emerging crops.
You can minimise the biosecurity risks when introducing new planting material by implementing a few simple procedures to your routine.
If you sometimes feel like you are drowning in paperwork, be reassured that keeping records is a genuinely useful biosecurity practice. If you ever find yourself caught up in a pest or disease incursion, the records you keep will be invaluable both to you and other producers in your industry.
Serpentine leafminer (Liriomyza huidobrensis) is a new pest to arrive in Australia, first reported in NSW in Greater Sydney in October 2020, and then also in the Fassifern Valley Queensland. Research shows this pest is that it is resistant to the chemical treatments used to control other leafminers. Therefore, an integrated pest management (IPM) regime is important to control the pest.
Several years on from the arrival of African swine fever (ASF) in Asia, the deadly pig disease remains right on Australia’s doorstep. With the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations issuing a heightened risk alert for the region, Animal Health Australia (AHA) is urging land managers and especially pig owners in Australia to be incredibly disciplined in how they manage their property biosecurity.
When it comes to on-farm biosecurity it is often said that if it moves, it can carry diseases, pests and weeds. The movement of people, vehicles and equipment creates a high risk of a biosecurity incursion, second only to the introduction of new plants, livestock and farm supplies (such as feed). With governments encouraging people to travel within Australia (despite constantly changing COVID-19 restrictions), Animal Health Australia (AHA) is encouraging all people to consider the impact their actions have on rural environments.
As the holidays are now upon us and following the lifting of many restrictions imposed due to COVID-19, many Australians will be looking to travel to visit family and friends, or simply get out of town. Animal Health Australia is reminding anyone travelling or expecting guests to be aware of the biosecurity implications that come with travel to our farms, national parks and other regional areas at this time of year. Don’t forget that any movement of people, vehicles and equipment can create new pathways for a biosecurity incursion.
Inspectors at border checkpoints on main roads between states and at airports are still looking for fruit and veggies that can’t be moved between states.