To eradicate or prevent the spread of an emergency plant pest, a response plan may require a property to be quarantined, certain crops to be destroyed or a grower to undertake actions that are additional to their normal production practices (such as control measures or a forced fallow). Implementing these requirements often results in additional costs or potential losses to impacted individuals.

Owner reimbursement costs (ORC) is a type of payment made under the EPPRD to an individual to reimburse them for specific defined costs or losses incurred following the implementation of a response plan. The provisions of the EPPRD define what comprises an ORC payment, who may receive a payment, how cost sharing is applied, and the general valuation and payment processes undertaken.

ORC evidence frameworks for the melon and sweetpotato industries were recently approved and published. Each evidence framework was developed and approved by the Australian Melon Association and Australian Sweetpotato Growers, and approved by all government stakeholders as well as the PHA Board.

PHA provided support through the development and approval process.

This is an important step forward for the melon and sweetpotato industries that better prepares them for a response to emergency plant pests that could devastate their respective cropping sectors.

With a combined value of over $3 billion, Australia’s grape and viticulture industries are some of the most valuable horticultural industries in Australia.

Australian grape industries have been fortunate to date in avoiding many of the world’s most devastating grape vine pests and as a result possess some of the oldest vineyards in the world.

Australia remains free from Australia’s number one exotic plant biosecurity threat, Xylella fastidiosa, and the industry continues to work hard to manage the spread of phylloxera. Australian growers enjoy an enviable global reputation of high quality and pest and disease-free grapes.

If an exotic or established pest or disease were to establish itself in Australia, there would be serious impacts to growers (beyond grapes alone) including reduced quality and yield, increased cost of production, impact of the movement of fruit and goods and reduced access to domestic and international markets.

This means that everyone has an important role to play in protecting the viticulture, table grape, dried fruit industries and the wider plant agriculture sector from pests and diseases.

The Vineyard Biosecurity Manual has been developed for everyone involved in the viticultural production chain, including vineyard owners, managers, staff, contractors, researchers and consultants. It outlines simple principles and procedures that can be used to minimise the risk of introducing and spreading exotic and established pests and diseases throughout your vineyard.

Adopting sound vineyard biosecurity practices help to protect individual livelihoods of growers and their staff along with the broader grape industries.

The first six months of 2022 has certainly been jam packed with activity. As we enter the next six months and our new financial year, I really look forward to refocusing and building on our existing activities to support our three strategic priorities under our new five year strategic plan. The 2022-23 Annual Operational Plan details our portfolio of work for the next 12 months to ensure we strengthen the plant biosecurity system for the benefit of the economy, environment and community.

Good biosecurity means good food security and we all know impacts from weather events can impact the availability of crops – as we’ve seen with the recent vegetable shortages. The detection of banana freckle in the Northern Territory, Panama TR4 in Queensland, Myrtle rust in Western Australia and Varroa mite in New South Wales continues to put additional pressure on our biosecurity system as well as those industries that rely on honey bees for pollination. These detections demonstrate the importance of good biosecurity practices to reduce the risk of pests and diseases from spreading; regular surveillance an early-warning system and the value of reporting.

On a positive note, we’re encouraged by the bumper harvest forecasted by Cotton Australia, the 20 per cent increase in farm biosecurity management plans reported by NSW government and the enhanced market access for the citrus industry reported by ABARES.

Last month we welcomed Murray Watt as the new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Emergency Management. Congratulations to Andrew Metcalfe on his appointment as Secretary of the newly re-named Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

PHA has a long history in emergency plant biosecurity responses and we look forward to exploring more opportunities for us to assist with building biosecurity resilience and recovery.

The Plant Health Australia (PHA) Board met virtually on 28 June 2022 for Board meeting 107. The meeting had the full attendance of the PHA Board, as well as Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Corcoran, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, Michael Milne and Jessica Arnold, National Manager Risk and Resilience.

The Board meeting was delayed from its original planned date as a face to face in Sydney to ensure all members were available to attend. The Chair welcomed new Director, Susan Petrellis to the Board following her successful appointment at the General Meeting held on 24 May 2022.

The agenda included discussion of strategic issues, a review of financial reports, risk mitigation plans and policy and the approval of the Annual Operational Plan and budget for 2022-23. The Board thanked the PHA team for organising the successful members/EPPRD/PIF/meetings in Sydney during May and reflected on how wonderful it was to see industry and government members alike and have everyone working towards a unified plant biosecurity sector.

The Board also discussed and endorsed a number of other topics of importance to our members including:

• the importance of ESG and Greenwashing considerations on company operations at the upcoming PHA Board Strategic workshop and joint meeting of the PHA/AHA Boards
• approved the Owner Reimbursement Cost frameworks for Melons and Sweetpotato. These frameworks are critical to their respective industries
• the Board takes an active role in PHA’s culture development and considered and approved policies that support staff learning and flexible work arrangements
• finance and governance was considered with a number of papers dedicated to a new tender policy, a review of the delegations and authority schedule and approval of the external audit program for 2023.

Overall, Board Meeting 107 was a productive and successful meeting with Board meeting 108 to be held in Mildura, Victoria on 22 September 2022.

Operation ‘Snailed It’ was conducted as a hybrid training exercise and surveillance collaboration between New South Wales (NSW) Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Plant Biosecurity and Murray and Riverina Local Land Services (LLS) at Barooga NSW on 10-11 May 2022.

The exercise was developed by the NSW DPI Grains Biosecurity Officer (GBO) to refresh and upskill DPI and LLS officers with the operational skills required in a plant biosecurity emergency response and to collect samples to support NSW’s claims of an absence of the pest green snail (Cantareus apertus). Green snail was first detected in Australia near Perth, in 1982 and within the last decade near Cobram in Victoria. Eradication has not been successful in either Western Australia or Victoria, however the pest is under management and regulations are in place to prevent its further spread. Green snail has a very wide host range which includes cereals, canola and lupins as well as many pasture and horticultural vegetable species.

NSW DPI biosecurity officers worked with the Emergency Management team from Murray and Riverina LLS to design and deliver a training activity focused on delimiting surveillance. Field crews from Murray and Riverina LLS collected suspect snail samples from over 50 sites around Barooga and samples were triaged and sent to Orange Agricultural Institute for diagnostics. These diagnostics confirmed that no green snails were found during the operation. All involved in the activity considered the training to be highly valuable.

On day one of Hort Connections, PHA’s Karin Steenkamp, Communications Manager, and Kyra Murray, Project Officer: Partnerships and Innovation, attended the Northern Farm Bus Tour sponsored by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QLD DAF).

The off-site bus tour kicked off bright and early at the Brisbane markets for a behind-the-scenes tour of the bustling market. Delegates met some of the 50 wholesalers who receive fresh produce from over 7,000 growers and trade five days a week to more than 800 registered buyers.

The next stop was Bunya Fresh in Yandine where snacking tomatoes were being packed for one of the big retailers. Delegates were required to adhere to on-site biosecurity measures by washing hands and feet before entering the packing facility before the Bunya Fresh team introduced them to their impressive tomato grading and sorting machinery as well as the adjacent greenhouse.

At QLD DAF’s Maroochy Research Facility in Nambour, delegates learned more about research undertaken on subtropical crops and major breeding programs for macadamias, strawberries, low-chill stone fruit, custard apples, pineapples and ginger.

The tour concluded with a visit to Green Valley Fingerlimes in the picturesque Beerwah valley. Grower Jade King, who has over 15 years’ experience in soil science and agronomy, shared some of the logistical and commercial challenges in growing this native Australian citrus variety. As finger lime trees are notoriously thorny, delegates were challenged to pick a few finger limes to take home.

Special thanks go to Sharika Johnson and Sophie Burge from AUSVEG who hosted the tour.

Following the buzz of World Bee Day celebrations last month, we continued our bee focus with PHA’s Kathryn Pagler, Bee Biosecurity Project Officer, attending the 4^th Honey Bee Congress and the 3^rd Native Bee Conference that both took place in Sydney, New South Wales.

The 4^th Honey Bee Congress took place from 8 – 11 June at the Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney. The event was hosted by the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) and attended by commercial and hobby beekeepers, state and territory government representatives involved in bee biosecurity (including Bee Biosecurity Officers and Apiary Officers), honey bee researchers, and representatives from AgriFutures, Hort Innovation and Wheen Bee Foundation.

There were 53 sponsors and exhibitors, including AgriFutures Honey Bee and Pollination, Ecotrek, HiveIQ, Lockwood Beekeeping Supplies and Nuplas Apiarist Supplies.

The event looked at the latest approaches and science on keeping honey bees healthy and the future and sustainability of the beekeeping industry. Key topics included updates and findings on research and projects about bee biosecurity (including pest and disease management), honey bee biology, pollination resilience, climate impacts and the future of bees. There were also sessions on education, training, business building and diversification, and practical beekeeping including record keeping.

“It was exciting to meet many of the Bee Biosecurity Officers and Apiary Officers that I have been working with over the past year. I also met Hort Innovation’s Ashley Zamek who we collaborate with on the National Bee Pest Surveillance Program,” said Kathryn.

The 3^rd Native Bee Conference took place from 11 – 12 June and was also hosted at the Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. The Australian Native Bee Association (ANBA) hosted the event and native bee beekeepers, native bee researchers and the Wheen Bee Foundation were in attendance.

Sponsors and exhibitors included AgriFutures, The University of Queensland, Bush Bees, Tabulam real honey, Aussie Bee, Propolis, Sugarbag Bees, Keeper & Hive, the Wheen Bee Foundation, and Hive Haven.

The conference featured industry updates and research project findings including bee biology and conservation, community engagement activities and programs, bee behaviour, crop pollination, and stingless bee management.

“I was able to meet a few native bee beekeepers and researchers as well as Ian Driver, president of the ANBA, who PHA has been working with over the last six months in the development of our Environmental Risk Mitigation Plan for Australian Native Bees and the biosecurity factsheets for native bees,” Kathryn said.

Kathryn provided delegates with the first hard copies of the native bee biosecurity factsheets that were developed by PHA and funded by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Downloadable copies of these resources are now available on the PHA website.

The Biosecurity Training Hub will be a national web-based platform bringing together all online biosecurity training and resources from across Australia to help improve accessibility, reduce duplication, and streamline resources for broad-scale biosecurity training across the country.

This centralised platform will allow users to find all biosecurity-related training provided by government, industry and stakeholders in one place and will feature training that is available to learners who are external to the host organisation.

The training hub as a concept has been endorsed by the National Biosecurity Committee and is currently being developed by a national working group in a partnership arrangement between AHA, the Queensland Government and PHA. All other state biosecurity agencies are also involved in the initiative through the National Biosecurity Communication and Engagement Network (NBCEN).

The working group is currently seeking input from Government, industry and other stakeholders that may have training relevant to this project to provide details of the training and/or resources by following the survey link.

The initial collection of training information is open until 4 July 2022.

Congratulations to the Goulburn Murray Valley (GMV) Fruit Fly Area Wide Management Program and Peter Leach from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF QLD) for winning awards at Hort Connections 2022 held in Brisbane earlier this month.

Ross Abberfield, GMV program coordinator, accepted the Visy Industry Impact Award in recogniton of the program’s important work in reducing the impact of fruit fly on the Australian horticultural industry.

Peter Leach, Principal Entomologist and Market Access Focus Team Leader at DAF QLD, won the coveted Bayer Researcher of the Year Award for his substantial contribution to horticulture research. He has led a significant portfolio of national market access disinfestation projects on fruit fly for over 25 years.

The past few weeks has seen Plant Health Australia (PHA) keeping up the trend of increased face-to-face engagements with our Member meetings in Sydney and Hort Connections in Brisbane – with both events providing us with valuable opportunities to reconnect with our members.

At our May Member meetings we welcomed Susan Petrellis to the PHA Board. Susan has international experience in industry, research, government, and education, building capability in organisations, industries, and economies across the agrifood, manufacturing and tech verticals. Her executive business experience spans senior roles in strategy, marketing, R&D, and innovation and she is a founder/founding member of 5 start-ups including innovation and sustainable leadership consultancy, Bounce Partners.

The importance of plant health surveillance and reporting has once again been highlighted with detections of Banana freckle in the Northern Territory and Strawberry latent ringspot in Victoria. Surveillance remains a fundamental component of the national biosecurity system and plays an important role at all stages of the biosecurity continuum. These early warning mechanisms combined with improved awareness of biosecurity risks are key in maintaining the strength and resilience of our plant biosecurity system.

Building capacity and biosecurity knowledge are key in managing risks to Australia’s agriculture industry and supporting trade and market access. With this in mind, we’ve partnered with Animal Health Australia and the Queensland Government on the Biosecurity Training Hub to bring together all online biosecurity training and resources from across Australia. The site will group training courses under themes to help users find the right package for them and you are invited to submit your training courses via the stakeholder survey.

This month we farewell Communications Officer, Angus Abbott and Project Officer Rachel Louise who have taken on non-biosecurity roles in the not-for-profit sector. In line with our focus on developing staff, congratulations to Dr Maggie Mwathi-Nyarko on her promotion to Network Coordinator within the Diagnostics team. I’d also like to wish Andrew Tongue a very happy retirement and acknowledge and thank him for his significant contribution to biosecurity.

If you haven’t already had a look, our comprehensive events webpage continues to help you plan your network and engagement opportunities for the rest of the year. Of note is the CEBRAnar on streamlining the risk assessment process, the BerryQuest International Conference and the Australian Grains Industry Conference. Key events you don’t want to miss!