WILD dogs, rabbits, foxes, feral pigs, blackberry, prickly acacia, rubber vine and parkinsonia are among the pest plant and animal species targeted under a new Federal Government grant designed to improve control measures.
The nation’s farmers and land managers can look forward to new pest animal and weed control technologies such as automated traps, thermal sensors and weed spraying robots, with 23 innovative projects to share in $10.5 million of Federal Government funding announced today.
Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said the funded projects under the Control Tools and Technologies for Established Pest Animals and Weeds Program would strengthen the management of some of Australia’s most significant agricultural pest animals and weeds.
The Government program is funding 23 projects put forward by universities, state, territory and local governments, research organisations, natural resource management groups and a private company.
The funding will be used to develop technologies such as herbicide spraying devices, automated traps and thermal aerial imaging for pest monitoring and optimise the use of chemicals, biological control agents.
“These new technologies will help to strengthen the fight against pests such as wild dogs, rabbits, foxes, feral pigs and donkeys and improve our management of established weeds, such as blackberry, gorse, prickly acacia, rubber vine, parkinsonia, mesquite and Chilean needle grass,” Mr Joyce said.
One project undertaken by Invasive Animals Limited in the ACT will develop ‘Intelli-Traps’, which are next-generation automation technologies for control of wild dogs.
“It will develop devices that can see, think and act to target specific pest animals, including a sentinel automated baiting station for wild dogs, which will result in less labour intensive work for land managers,” Mr Joyce said.
A recent survey undertaken by ABARES and funded through the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper found that agricultural businesses spent an average of $19,620 a year on managing pest animals and weeds.
“Going forward, this initiative will ensure our farmers and land managers are on the front foot in the fight against pest animals and weeds to limit the impact they can have on our land, produce and industries,” Mr Joyce said.
The Established Pest Animals and Weeds Measure is a $50 million investment over four years to 2018-19 as part of the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper, the Australian Government’s plan for stronger farmers and a stronger economy. A further $26m will be spent specifically for areas still feeling the on-going impacts of drought.
It has been estimated that pest animals cost agriculture in Australia around $620 million a year in production losses and weeds cost an estimated $4 billion a year in control costs and production losses.
- Click here to access a list of the grant recipients, and to learn more.
More toys for the boys to play with and more complicated and expensive technologies to feel good about having about.There always seems to be a new widgit that is bigger, better and will achieve great things.We have already got the things we need to do the job but we don’t effectively apply them to the contexts. The simple truth is that it involves hard work and persistance and a change in the restrictions placed upon land holders and managers to respond. Years ago , every farm vehicle had a rifle hung in a rack in the cabin and it was there always, even when you went to town. If in the course of business one saw a pest , it was shot. You and your neighbours worked together and if you saw a dog, fox, pig, cat or the like on your neighbours you shot it and made a courtesy call to tell them what had been done and they did the same if they saw a pest on your place. Today you can’t travel on a road with a firearm unless it is secured in a steel box with the bolt and ammunition separately secured. If you see a pest then you can only wave or mutter under your breath, not to mention that you commit an offence if you fire from a roadway into your own paddock. Another empire has been built on this theme with lots of research grants, bureaucrats and offices, flash vehicles and the like eating up the cash as always.