The Victorian Government will invest $43.5 million to put in place a wide-ranging strategy to tackle what could potentially be the biggest locust plague in the last 75 years.
At a farm in Goornong near Bendigo today, Mr Brumby said a main focus of the locust war strategy would be a 100 per cent rebate to farmers to meet the costs of locust-spraying chemicals.
Scientists have estimated the potential threat of locusts this spring could result in a 35 per cent loss of returns from cereal production, a 30 per cent loss in horticulture and a 20 per cent loss on dairy and other livestock industries.
Mr Brumby, Agriculture Minister Joe Helper and Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan met with farmers, agricultural sector representatives and scientific experts to discuss the impending locust threat.
Mr Brumby also announced he would chair a new taskforce to oversee and implement the strategy to minimise the impact of locusts on Victoria’s economy and environment.
“Our Government is taking action to support farmers to fight a forecast locust plague which has the potential to cost Victoria’s agricultural sector $2 billion if left untreated,” Mr Brumby said.
“The advice of leading scientists indicates the scale of the coming spring’s outbreak could be as bad as we experienced in 1973 and 1974 when locusts swarmed through much of Victoria.
“Prior to that, the last outbreak of this scale was in 1934, so we could be facing a once-in-a-lifetime locust plague with locusts swarming right across the state.
“This $43.5 million package will deliver the support Victorian farmers need to prepare for a locust plague. It means they can buy up on the chemicals needed now to treat locust hoppers, ensuring that when the locusts come they can be dealt with quickly.
“I urge landholders to work in partnership with the government and with their communities to manage the likely locust plague threat this spring.”
Other key features of the $43.5 million strategy include:
- Establishment of three incident control centres across the north of the state and a separate call centre to assist the government plan, manage and act on the locust threat;
- The lease of fixed-wing planes and helicopters to aerial spray where possible;
- Treatment of an estimated 600,000 hectares of public land that is likely to be affected by locust activity;
- A major advertising campaign and public meetings across much of the state to ensure landholders are aware of what they need to spray and when; and
- 400 dedicated staff at the peak of the locust hatchings working with communities by visiting landowners, managing roadblocks during aerial sprayings and reporting all locust activity.
The taskforce on locusts will be chaired by the Premier and include Agriculture Minister Joe Helper, Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan, Environment and Climate Change Minister Gavin Jennings and Health Minister Daniel Andrews.
Mr Brumby said if locusts were allowed to hatch and swarm on a widespread scale, there were wide-ranging ramifications far beyond the agricultural sector, including:
- the closure of regional airports;
- cancellation of spring racing carnival events;
- damage to football ovals, bowling greens, golf courses and parks and gardens;
- the cancellation or postponement of community events and carnivals; and
- road safety concerns with locust build-up on vehicles.
In addition to providing rebates to farmers for the costs of chemicals, the Victorian Government will take action to spray on public land.
Agriculture Minister Joe Helper said Department of Primary Industries (DPI) staff had been monitoring the location of egg bed sites across Victoria since February and were using this information in the preparation and planning of today’s coordinated response.
“Locust swarms have been reported through much of Victoria in summer and autumn. While the recent cold snap has led to a decrease in those swarms, experts estimate there could be locust eggs laying dormant in the soil across more than two million hectares of land,” Mr Helper said.
“Immature locusts, referred to as hoppers, are unable to fly. When they hatch this spring, the aim will be to ensure all landholders chemically target locust hoppers before they are able to fly and spread in large numbers over large distances across the state.
“Despite all of these measures the risk of impact is still very real and it won’t be possible to eradicate the threat, but by acting early and decisively farmers can reduce the impact of locusts on their farms, on their neighbours and other regions,” he said.
Mr Helper said with the likely demand for chemicals to be high, it was important farmers only purchased the chemicals they needed for this locust season and the rebate would apply for the purchase of a reasonable volume of chemicals.