Heavy rains over the last few days have caused damage running into millions of dollars to the Tasmanian farming sector.
The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) says that while this is nowhere near the scale and the scope of the Queensland tragedy “we are now dealing with some serious flooding impacts mainly in the north-east and north-west farming regions”.
“We’re still assessing the damage, but it is likely to be significant,” TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said.
“It could be as high as 25 per cent of our vegetables and 20 per cent of potato crops.
“We’ve spoken to a number of individual farmers who put their crop losses at more than $1 million mainly in vegetables, potatoes, baled hay and poppies. The livestock sector appears to have got off relatively lightly.”
Ms Davis said there was no indication yet of the value of infrastructure lost, on-farm and public, but it was also expected to be on a broad scale.
“Obviously this will impact on individual farmers and regions badly, especially in the areas where there have already been issues around poor commodity prices and forestry industry uncertainty,” she said.
“We’ll need a little time to get more accurate assessments but we’ll be looking further down the track to what assistance government can offer to affected farmers and surrounding communities,” Ms Davis said.
This is a synopsis of the TFGA’s flood damage survey:
• North East – The rain has caused extensive damage and the impact is being felt mainly by the potato growers. Losses to some growers will be in the millions of dollars. (The difference between the north-east and north-west is the undulation or slope of the land; the north-east has flatter land.)
• North West, Sassafras region – There will be damage. Poppy, potato, bean and onion crops will all be affected to some degree. Some bean crops were resown after the November/December rains and have been damaged again; waterlogging will be an issue for potatoes; and disease could be an issue for onions.
• North West, Sisters Creek region – Some waterlogging. There will be nitrogen losses due to leaching; overall not as bad as some other regions.
• North, Meander – Extensive flooding; poppy crops will be affected; many farmers didn’t get the opportunity to plant potatoes this year due to the wet weather late last year; the flooding now may have affected those crops.
Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
Earlier: The inland tsunami …
And,
Introduced pest could spell disaster for Tasmania
The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association today warned everyone to be on their guard for a recently-discovered exotic plant pathogen in NSW which could wreak havoc with Tasmanian native plants and forestry species if it gets into the state.
Myrtle Rust (Uredo rangelii) affects plants belonging to the family Myrtaceae. This family includes all varieties of eucalypts, bottle brush and tea tree.
Myrtle rust produces masses of powdery yellow spores on infected plant parts. It infects leaves of susceptible plants producing spore-filled lesions on young actively growing leaves, shoots, flower buds and fruits. Leaves may become buckled or twisted and plants may die as a result of infection.
“It could be the worst biosecurity risk we’ve seen in Tasmania, bar none. It appears that it cannot be eradicated now in NSW, so we need to be alert to the risks of establishment here” TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said today.
“We know that it moves around easily in the air, on infected plants and on almost anything that comes into contact with infected plants, including non-host plants, people and vehicles.
“With so much of Tasmania’s natural environment made up of species in the Myrtaceae family, the potential for devastation of our bushland and forests is frightening,” she said.
As of today, the Department of Primary Industry, Parks Water and Environment has introduced new plant import requirements to reduce the risks of this pest entering Tasmania. These measures include compulsory fungicide treatment of all non-myrtaceous nursery stock as well as maintaining a ban on myrtaceous nursery stock coming into Tasmania.
Quarantine Tasmania will also increase awareness efforts at airports and ports, targeting bushwalkers or other people who have recently visited NSW, to minimise the risk of the disease entering Tasmania on vehicles, footwear and clothing.
“Biosecurity is a high priority for all Tasmanians and we need to be alert to this new and potentially devastating risk,” Ms Davis said.
