AgForce has launched its new Biosecurity Issue of the Month campaign to raise awareness of key biosecurity threats in Queensland and providing practical information to help prevent their spread.
Each month, AgForce will highlight a different biosecurity issue and provide information to primary producers and the wider community.
AgForce CEO Niki Ford said biosecurity awareness was critical to protecting farms and environment, with invasive plants costing the Queensland economy around $600 million every year.
“By highlighting one biosecurity issue each month, we’re helping people stay informed and encouraging them to take action,” she said.
The first issue featured in the campaign is Sticky Florestina (Florestina tripteris), an invasive weed becoming an increasing concern across parts of Central Queensland.
Introduced through contaminated grass seed in the 1960s, Sticky Florestina is rapidly spreading throughout the central west of Queensland and beyond into other areas.
The weed poses a significant threat to agricultural productivity and the environment due to its ability to rapidly colonise bare ground and outcompete other pasture grasses following rainfall.
“Its aggressive spread reduces pasture quality and availability, lowering the carrying capacity of grazing land and impacting farm productivity,” AgForce Biosecurity Committee Chair Belinda Callanan said.
“The weed is also toxic to livestock and native species, posing risks to animal welfare and increasing the economic impact on affected producers.”
AgForce has advocated for Sticky Florestina to be declared under Queensland’s Biosecurity Act 2014, supporting stronger and more coordinated management of this emerging weed across the state.
Small infestations of sticky florestina can be manually removed and bagged, although larger infestations may require targeted treatment when the plant is young and has not set seeds.
