Waiting game as locusts mass
From the August 2008 edition of Agriculture Today.
Authorities are gearing up for the possibility of a massive plague locust outbreak this spring.
NSW Department of Primary Industries and Rural Lands Protection Boards (RLPBs) and NSW Farmers Association are on alert following more than 900 reports of locust activity since the beginning of autumn.
More than 800 of these reports came from Central West and southern RLPB districts.
Landowners in these areas and elsewhere are being urged to report as soon as possible any locust activity they may have noticed in autumn, or since then.
"A map showing areas of NSW where there was locust activity in the autumn will play a key role in helping authorities prepare for spring," according to NSW Locust Commissioner Graeme Eggleston.
Mr Eggleston said the map painted a grim warning to farmers, particularly in the Central West and southern parts of the State, that locusts posed a significant threat this year.
"We are working hard with RLPBs and NSW Farmers Association to get an indication of potential locust activity come spring," he said.
"Chemical has been ordered and action plans have been developed to help us be well placed to provide a comprehensive response to any outbreaks."
NSW Farmers Association president Jock Laurie, who sits on the Plague Locust Management Group, said government and industry were working closely together on response plans.
"If landholders noted any locust activity, even low density locust swarming or egg beds earlier this year, they should report this to their local RLPB as soon as possible," he said.
"And as soon as the weather warms up it is vital that farmers report any signs of locusts hatching or on the wing so swift action can be taken."
One of the biggest locust control efforts ever undertaken, costing in excess of $21 million, occurred in the Central West in 2004-05.
