UPDATE: THE first bugs of the worst locust plague in a generation are now crawling on the land in NSW.

The first hatching at Nyngan, 583km northwest of Sydney, was reported by a farmer to the Livestock Health and Pest Authorities this week.

LHPA rangers have also confirmed a second spate of hatching locusts at Byrock, between Bourke and Nyngan, in north-western NSW.

NSW farmers are being urged to report the hatchings, and treat them on the ground before they wreak havoc by taking to the skies.

The state's Minister for Primary Industries Steve Whan said today that if 100ha of locust bands were not effectively controlled they might develop into "1000 hectares of adult swarms''.

"Once locusts take to the wing they can migrate up to 600 kilometres or more in a single night,'' Mr Whan said in a statement.

"The first plague of locust nymphs have hatched from winter dormancy, signalling the start to what is predicted to be the worst plague locust outbreak in NSW in 30 years,'' Mr Whan said.

"Warmer weather over the weekend led to an increase in ground temperature, which is a trigger for locust eggs to hatch.

"It's now gloves off.''
 
The news came as Australia’s only maker of the organic locust control, Green Guard, today revealed it had boosted output of the environmentally-friendly spray five-fold in a bid to meet unprecedented demand.

With Central Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia anticipating the worst locust outbreak in 75 years, Becker Underwood, Australia’s only manufacturer of the organic locust control, Green Guard, said it was responding to fears that existing supplies were running short.

The revelation came amid concern that the Australian Plague Locust Commission would give priority to locust-threatened national parks over farms to deal with the current shortage of Green Guard.

The company's managing director Richard Waterworth said Becker Underwood had been consulting with the APLC and relevant state authorities for the past four months in an effort to forecast expected demand and to put in place production strategies to ensure enough product was available when and where required. 

"However, there are many difficulties in accurately anticipating demand under these unprecedented conditions," Mr Waterworth said in a statement.

"There are a number of factors that have impacted demand beyond expectations and even now, with the first hatching expected at the end of September, demand cannot be accurately forecast," he said.

"The prevailing seasonal conditions are not known at present and if favourable to locusts, late orders will exceed product availability. With a 35 day turnaround in production, I would recommend that landholders do not leave ordering until the last minute."

GreenGuard is a locust control agent used in environmentally sensitive areas such as national parks, waterways, schools and farms.

However, production problems have created an eight-week delay in filling the Australian Plague Locust Commission's orders.

Experts predict Australia is facing its worst locust plague in 75 years, with eggs in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia to hatch over spring.

The commission yesterday said it was working with the states to ensure existing stocks were available to high-risk, priority areas.

APLC director Chris Adriaansen said the product would be used strategically as locusts hatched this spring.

"This may mean that we have to give priority to using some of the current stock to control locusts in national parks and on other public lands, so that high-density infestations in these areas do not become a subsequent problem for private landholders," he said.

Victoria's parliament this week heard the opposition had been warning of a shortage of the spray since May, but had been ignored.

Mr Waterworth pointed to a Victorian Government action in July this year that had also worsened the situation.

"In an effort to protect land, the State Government, by an order in council, declared the Australian plague locust an exotic pest, requiring all landholders to report and to undertake locust control," he said.

"The number of landholders impacted by this change and the size of their properties is still an unknown quantity which places Becker Underwood in the position of having to continually re-evaluate demand and find new solutions to increase production volumes."

Becker Underwood’s Australian facility in Somersby, NSW was now running at maximum capacity and in July the decision was made to engage a second Becker Underwood factory (based in South Africa) to increase the Green Guard volume available, Mr Waterworth said.

Despite an initial contamination setback, a normal occurrence when manufacturing biologicals, production at the South African plant was progressing well and Becker Underwood expectedto meet all current orders by the end of November with some free flow product available at this time for immediate purchase, he said.

Orders were being met in accordance with when the order was placed. "However, if a high number of late orders are placed, free flow products may not be available until after November when a second generation outbreak is possible," Mr Waterworth said.

"I cannot stress enough the importance for landholders to place their orders for Green Guard within a timeframe that allows us to manufacture and produce enough product to protect their properties."

Green Guard is a revolutionary biological control developed by Becker Underwood and CSIRO Entomology. It is environmentally friendly, has no withholding period and leaves no residues so it can even be used in environmentally sensitive areas.

"We have supplied product to our network of agricultural resellers in Victoria but I need to stress that "on the spot" orders may not be able to be fulfilled immediately or at a nominated date until mid November," Mr Waterworth said.

"Ordering now will give landholders the best opportunity to receive Green Guard before a second generation outbreak occurs."

Mr Adriaansen said government agencies had not bought all the available supplies and, in some states, the product was being made available for landholder use.

More deliveries were expected in the middle of this month, but may not be available in some areas until next month.

The Australian Plague Locust Commission and state agencies are trying to manage the distribution of existing supplies to high priority areas.

The APLC said the shortfall in Green Guard was the result of supply issues and not due to government agency purchases.

A contamination problem in the production of Green Guard, a locust control agent used in environmentally sensitive areas such as national parks, waterways, around schools and certified organic farms, has led to supply delays and possible shortages when needed in spring, it said.

Mr Adriaansen said the manufacturing company had identified a level of contamination in a recent production run of GreenGuard spores, requiring the decontamination of the production facility before spore production could resume.

"The company has advised that none of the contaminated batch has been distributed so no recall of stocks is required,” he said.

"However, it has meant a delay of up to eight weeks in filling orders placed by the APLC and the states."

The APLC and state government agencies are working together to manage existing stocks of GreenGuard to ensure that the product is available to be used in high-risk, priority areas.

"Our priority is the strategic management of the population as the locust hatchings progress through spring," Mr Adriaansen said.

Mr Adriaansen said it was still important that landholders made every endeavour to control locusts on their property to prevent crop and pasture damage.

"Some spraying with Green Guard would normally be undertaken by landholders and it is likely that the shortfall will impact availability,” Mr Adriaansen said.

"However, government agencies have not purchased all the supplies. The APLC has been informed that some of the product ordered by the state agencies is being formulated into packs suitable for landholder use."

In addition to the stocks currently held by government agencies, further supplies of GreenGuard were expected to be delivered in the middle of this month. However they may not be available in some areas until next month.

GreenGuard is a bio-insecticide containing a fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum, which is suspended in corn oil.

The fungus spores penetrate the body of individual locusts and attack the internal organs. The locusts usually die 8–21 days after treatment, although this can take longer in cool temperatures.

For more information on locusts: https://portal.newsltd.com.au/get/uri/http://www.daff.gov.au/aplc