Friday, March 29, 2024

Farmers seek clarity over needle grass

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Neighbouring North Canterbury sheep farmers facing Chilean needle grass are asking the regional council to clarify their positions with the pest plant.
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For Owen Gould, on Leamington Rd, a statement can’t come soon enough. Having the dart-like grass in a paddock has led some locals to shy away from his place.

The grass damages wool and pelt quality, is hard to identify and can be hard to eradicate.

At one stage no one was willing to loan Gould an auger to handle his 20 tonnes of barley. In the end he paid $8000 for one so he could get the crop into a silo.

He had spent countless hours checking, spraying and fencing off the affected piece of his 120ha property.

NO PROBLEM HERE: Ian Stevenson, pictured with his grand champion merino ram at the recent Canterbury A&P Show, is keen for people to know his place is free of the grass. Photo: David Alexander

He expected landowners in an affected area like Leamington Rd to be able to move stock and plant along short stretches of the road.

ECan has told landowners the key to stopping the spread of the grass was pathway management. The seed didn’t fall far from the mother plant and wouldn’t spread far in the wind, so it relied on humans or livestock movement, most likely by attaching to clothing, sheep and cattle, or even hairy legs.

Seeds could be found in large numbers in the soil, making transfer of mud on dirty vehicles, animal hooves and earth-moving equipment a high risk.

Research is continuing on the grass and on control methods, including the herbicide Taskforce, which can be applied aerially.

ECan commissioner David Bedford told last week’s field day group it was important for farmers to prove their commitment to the pest-control programme.

The council had helped lift funding for response to the grass from about $45,000 to just less than $285,000 in the past year.

Some of the council’s input could be redirected if landowners didn’t take the pest seriously, he said.

Field day organisers were disappointed more farmers hadn’t attended last Monday’s multi-farm event, despite extensive publicity.

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