South Perth, Western Australia
March 9, 2009
The
Department of Agriculture
and Food’s Lisa Sherriff has taken up the position of
GrainGuard co-ordinator for Western Australia.
Ms Sherriff is also the national grains industry coordinator for
Plant Health Australia.
Ms Sherriff said GrainGuard was formed in 1997, following an
outbreak of lupin anthracnose in northern WA in 1996.
“GrainGuard sees the department and the grains industry work
together to assess and quickly respond to new pest, disease,
insect and weed outbreaks, including previous incursions of
stripe rust and wheat streak mosaic virus,” she said.
“A specific biosecurity plan has been developed for each of the
major grain industries - wheat, barley, canola, lupins, pulses
and oats.”
Ms Sherriff said the GrainGuard committee was also responsible
for the maintenance of priority lists for exotic pests from
interstate and overseas, pest surveillance, emergency response
procedures to pest incursions and extension of key biosecurity
messages to industry.
“At the recent GrainGuard meeting, growers and industry
delegates expressed strong support for the continuation of
GrainGuard, as the work the committee undertakes is vital to
WA’s grains industry,” she said.
“In 2009, some of the key priorities for the committee will be
to promote greater surveillance for exotic pests by all in the
supply chain, further promote adoption of on-farm biosecurity
and to provide improved levels of communications on GrainGuard
business for committee members.”
Ms Sherriff said a number of other grains biosecurity issues
were also discussed at the meeting.
“These included the deregulation of grains marketing and its
potential effects on on-farm storage and phosphine resistance
management; working with farm contractors to minimise
biosecurity risks from the movement of machinery and potential
changes in new pest threat distributions as a result of climate
change,” she said.
GrainGuard biosecurity enquiries can be directed to Lisa
Sherriff on 9690 2000. |
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