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The risk of weed invasion, and their impact on farms and the environment dramatically increases during and after an emergency such as drought, fire or flood. However, in dealing with other pressing emergency response and recovery issues, the spread of weeds can often be overlooked. It is not until some months after the emergency that it becomes obvious that weed impact may be a most costly legacy to the farmer.
With the recent devastating bushfires in Victoria and the widespread floods in Queensland, there is potential for weed spread through a range of activities including machinery movement, receding flood waters and displacement of animals, both domestic, introduced and native. The activity that poses the greatest risk of weed invasion during and after an emergency is the movement and importation of hay and grain as stockfeed onto affected farmland.
In an effort to minimise the risk posed by weeds in fire-stricken regions of Victoria, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries has put together a helpful brochure to raise the awareness of weeds during time of emergency recovery (attached below) and provide information for farmers and organisations co-ordinating fodder donations and movement.
The pamphlet is also available online at
www.dpi.vic.gov.au/weeds.
Weed Warning - drought, fire & flood (911 KB)
