Letham farms along the route the contaminated seed took on its journey to a Methven seed-dressing plant.
“I’m extremely concerned about this issue,” he said of a biosecurity breach that resulted in the spillage of the noxious weed black grass in Mid Canterbury.
“Making a robust plan for monitoring the area for the next five years must now be the focus. The plan needs to include eradication measures should the plant establish itself and the monitoring must be done by people who are very skilled in identifying plants.”
Guidelines about who would pay the costs of the monitoring, eradication and if necessary reparation must be established quickly, Letham said.
DAMAGE DONE: Methven arable farmer Ian Letham is concerned about the black grass issue. Photo: Annette Scott
“This is a time for those who have a clear appreciation of the issues at stake to get around the table with calm, level heads and make an achievable plan to deal with this threat so that we get the best possible outcome for the whole arable industry.
“My biggest fear is that monitoring will run out and we (farmers) will be left carrying the baby.”
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has been working over the past week with Federated Farmers, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), and Environment Canterbury to address the biosecurity threat from the potential incursion of black grass in Mid Canterbury.
MPI is expected to release the details of a response plan today.
The response is to spillage of an imported fescue seed lot that was being transported from Ashburton to a seed-dressing plant near Methven.
The importer of the noxious weed threatening Mid Canterbury’s multi-million dollar seed industry, PGG Wrightson, has admitted it failed to take adequate steps to ensure the consignment was contained securely in transit.
It was likely the split seed included viable black grass seed, a pest plant that is not found in New Zealand, MPI response manager David Yard said.
Black grass, also known as slender meadow foxtail, is an invasive plant that affects winter crops in Europe, including wheat, grass seed, rapeseed, forage legumes, and barley.
The fescue seed was imported from Denmark. It had been returned.
MPI estimated about 30kg of seed containing up to 2100 black grass seeds blew out of seed bins being transported on the back of a flat-deck truck for the 40km journey.
“There is a low chance that black grass will establish from the spill but it is important to mitigate any biosecurity risk, which is why we will be paying very close attention to the area and looking at a range of control options,” Yard said.
PGG Wrightson Seed’s group manager John McKenzie confirmed the company was working with MPI following the breach of biosecurity conditions.
“The black grass was identified in a consignment of grass seed imported by PGW. In late June, while transporting the seed to a processing facility to remove the black grass contamination, a small quantity was spilt,” McKenzie said.
“We are working closely with MPI and associated parties to determine the appropriate mitigation strategy and are fully co-operating with MPI’s investigation into the breach.”
McKenzie said PGW had not breached regulation in respect to importing the seed. Effectively the seed that was landed at Port of Lyttelton had not been released into NZ at the time of the spill.
“It was being transported from one bond site to another and we are allowed to do that under the regulation. What we didn’t comply with was shifting it,” McKenzie said.
The seed had been tested and imported with a compliant purity and germination (P&G) certificate. But when it arrived in NZ a second test proved different.
“The second test was a different result to what we (PGW) had purchased. It wasn’t up to scratch on arrival.”
PGW opted to transport the fescue seed under bond to the Methven site for cleaning, to gain compliance for release into NZ.
“We should have transported it in a covered vehicle, not covered bins. That’s where we went wrong and in the process some seed was lost into the environment. It should not have happened,” McKenzie said.
What had happened was not important, he said.
“More important is what we do about mitigating the risk of a black grass incursion.”
“We should have transported it in a covered vehicle, not covered bins. That’s where we went wrong and in the process some seed was lost into the environment. It should not have happened.”
John McKenzie
PGG Wrightson Seeds
In answer to whether the biosecurity regulation was adequate to protect the industry and mitigate further risk, McKenzie said regulation managed the risk and if NZ wanted a seed industry, regulation had to be practical.
Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury grains chairman David Clark said the issue was a serious threat to arable farming in NZ and farmers were justifiably angry black grass had escaped into arable farmland.
Technical staff at the ministry and FAR were urgently gathering information, including from overseas. FAR was putting together agronomic solutions and Feds were formulating a cost-benefit analysis to justify the launch of a response, Clark said.
“Black grass has proved to be one of the toughest weeds to control on European and UK cropping farms.
“Without specific management, black grass can reduce yields in wheat to beyond the point where it is economic to grow the crop and could also put in jeopardy NZ’s lucrative ryegrass seed export business.”
Control options overseas had proved only partially successful and in NZ it would mean more chemical use and deeper cultivation, he said.
Even then, black grass had shown a strong tendency to develop resistance to a number of different chemical families.
“Where things went wrong will be discussion for another day. Right now Feds’ total focus is on a full incursion response and that is what we have requested of MPI.”
FAR chief executive Nick Pyke said germination of the spilled seed was most likely to occur from now to April next year.
Black grass could go from germination to maturity within 100 days, therefore it would be most visible from November to April next year.
“Farmers can assist with surveillance and reduce the chance of black grass becoming established in the area by keeping an eye out for any sign of the pest and if found report it immediately,” Pyke said.
