PLANT Health Australia and state agricultural departments are ramping up defences against exotic pests, diseases and weeds with the release of new warning signs.
The free warning signs advise visitors to farms to contact the property owner on arrival so that biosecurity risks they or their vehicle pose can be identified and dealt with before proceeding further.
Plant Health Australia communications manager Jim McGrath said the responsibility for biosecurity for exotic pests and diseases extended beyond the Federal Government's border control measures at entry points into Australia.
He said farmers were often in the best position to spot problems and take action to control them.
"It's all about mitigating risks," he said.
"It's cheaper to prevent a disease in the first place than try to control it after an outbreak occurs."
The PHA is working with grain biosecurity officers in each state to get the message across on the threat of weed, pest and disease incursions.
Department of Primary Industries grain industry biosecurity officer Jim Moran said the signs reminded people entering a property to contact the owner first, so that they could be directed to quarantine facilities, such as vehicle and boot washers.
Mr Moran said groups such as the Birchip Cropping Group, Southern Farming Systems and National Variety Trials were also putting up the signs at their trial sites to get the biosecurity message across to farmers.
"The more aware we are that vehicles, machinery, animals and people movement spreads pests and diseases, the more we can prevent it happening," he said.
- The signs and a biosecurity manual can obtained by contacting Mr Moran at jim.moran@dpi.vic.gov.au or by phoning him at the DPI's Bendigo office on (03) 5430 4479.
