THE latest annual reports for WA's three industry-driven biosecurity funding schemes are available on the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) website.
Industry funding schemes (IFS) address the biosecurity priorities of cattle, grains, seeds and hay, as well as the sheep and goat industries in WA.
The reports outline the operations and effectiveness of each scheme and the activities of the IFS committees for the 2016/17 financial year.
The IFS are industry-driven and funded by contributions by more than 99 per cent of industry producers, with support provided by DPIRD.
DPIRD biosecurity director Mia Carbon said the release of annual reports provided an opportunity for contributors to see how their funds had been used and provide feedback to the management committees.
“Biosecurity programs such as those implemented under the IFSs help maintain WA's enviable biosecurity status for the benefit of local producers and consumers from domestic and international markets,” Dr Carbon said.
Cattle IFS chairman Steve Meerwald said a major outcome of the scheme in 2016/17 was determining a clear way forward for managing Johne's disease in cattle.
“With changes to the national framework for managing Johne's disease, the committee carefully considered how to meet the needs of the cattle industry in WA,” Mr Meerwald said.
“Industry took a strong interest and debated available options before supporting the majority view of maintaining border controls while structured surveillance for the disease is being carried out.
“Surveillance is expected to support the view of industry that WA has a negligible incidence of Johne's disease in cattle.
“If this is the case, the animal health, welfare and commercial benefits of regulating Johne's disease and protecting the health status of our cattle will increase in value over time.”
Outcomes of the Sheep and Goat IFS in 2016/17 included the continued containment of virulent footrot within the WA herd and the inclusion of wild dogs under the scheme.
Sheep and Goat IFS chairman Ed Rogister said the scheme was an important mechanism for the sheep and goat industry to invest in biosecurity and discussions indicated wild dogs were viewed as a critical risk to production.
“It is estimated that less than 1pc of WA's sheep and goat herd is infected with the serious infection, virulent footrot,” Mr Rogister said.
“The Sheep and Goat IFS-funded Footrot Control program is central to maintaining the low infection rate and can be used to address other biosecurity risks to industry.”
Mr Rogister said the 2016/2017 financial year saw the continuation of the Footrot Control Program which continued to be fundamental in containing the spread of virulent strains of footrot within the WA flock.
“Improvements in science, technologies and innovations continued and we are keeping a close eye on these developments and how they may be applied in the WA industry,” Mr Rogister said.
“It is my strong belief that these advancements will be central to improving the effectiveness and efficiencies of the program over time.
“On that note, the first IFS-funded trial of a serogroup-specific footrot vaccine did not reveal any difference in the level of occurrence of footrot lesions between vaccinated and unvaccinated sheep.”
The vaccine, which was developed by researchers at the University of Sydney, New South Wales, was prepared specifically for each farm and was administered in a step-wise process until all serogroups on that farm had been vaccinated against.
“The vaccine is a potential tool for helping to control footrot and it is important to understand how it works under WA conditions,” Mr Rogister said.
“We have begun a second trial, which will provide more data that can then be analysed and used to help make decisions on control options.”
The IFS Management Committee spent considerable time investigating the opportunity for including wild dogs in the scheme, which would enable the industry to raise funds for on-ground activities to control this important threat.
Mr Rogister said it was important to recognise that controlling wild dogs would benefit all Western Australians," he said.
“For this reason the management committee echo the views of the majority of the WA sheep and goat industry by stressing that government must continue to invest in activities to control wild dogs,” he said.
“We appreciate that biosecurity is a shared responsibility and acknowledge that the industry can – and does – play its part.”
Grains, Seeds and Hay IFS chairman Jim Sullivan said the scheme collected more than $5 million from WA growers during the 2016/17 financial year.
“Funds for the Grains, Seeds and Hay IFS were used to help industry manage skeleton weed and an eradication program for three-horned bedstraw,” Mr Sullivan said.
“The reporting period saw the bedstraw eradication program move into the critical three-year release phase.
“If there are no detections of bedstraw during this time, the affected properties are expected to be released from quarantine,” he said.
Bedstraw causes considerable yield loss in crops and the seeds contaminate fodder and grain.
IFS annual reports can be downloaded from the department website agric.wa.gov.au
