Friday, 10th December saw 66 community members attend the Guyra Bowling Club for a second workshop in a month focused on Chilean Needle Grass.
The workshops have been instigated by a group of landholders in the Black Mountain area, led by local landholder Kristy Youman.
“We received an offer of funding from Northern Tablelands Local Land Services to run the project, and we’ve onboarded both Southern New England Landcare and GLENRAC to assist us in managing it,” said Kristy.
“And it’s a good thing, because I’m really surprised at how much interest we’ve got in these two events,” she said.
Several speakers addressed participants at the event, including New England Weeds Authority’s Trent McIntyre; Vice President of Southern New England Landcare and local landholders, Bill Perrottet; local landholder, Dan McKemey; Karl Andersson & Max Newsome from Northern Tablelands Local Land Services; and agronomists Paul Harris from Elders, and Grazag's, Craig Chapman & Matt Foster.
“If you have small patches of Chilean Needle Grass, mark them on your map or GPS the location,” was the advice given by Trent McIntyre, Senior Biosecurity Officer.
“Removing the seed head will help remove 85-90% of the seed in the plant, and then spray the plant according to the label rate.
“Remember to return to the area again in September or October every year to monitor and treat that patch again,” he said.
Participants were advised to hit small areas hard, maintaining a 10-metre clean buffer around all boundaries to prevent spread into neighbouring properties.
Bill Perrottet has a lived experience with Chilean Needle Grass, having so much that it has to be managed rather than eliminated or controlled.
“Ensure you have a good biosecurity plan, target small patches hard, and for large areas, set stocking just before seed set can help retain feed value,” said Bill.
Dan McKemey compared Chilean Needle Grass to a virus we’ve all heard so much about in recent times.
“Chilean Needle Grass is like the coronavirus – it’s spread by us,” said Dan.
“So, try to reduce your vehicle, machinery and stock movement in areas with Chilean Needle Grass, especially during seeding,” he said.
Dan found that spray topping was 98% effective in reducing the seed set, which once set, drastically reduces the digestibility of the plant by livestock.
The advice of these experienced local landholders was backed up by local agronomy experts who attended.
“Being very aware of who is on your property and where they are driving is key - even where you pull up when you go to town,” said Paul Harris, Elders Ltd.
Matt Foster, Grazag echoed the key message of the day. "If you have small patches hit them hard with everything you have got".
Various options for treating larger areas of Chilean Needle Grass were discussed, including chemical treatment, outcompeting the weed with highly competitive annual species, trialing broadleaf multispecies crops, slashing, and strategic grazing.
The Black Mountain Chilean Needle Grass Project aims to run several biosecurity workshops in the New Year.
GLENRAC, Southern New England Landcare and Northern Tablelands Local Land Services would like to thank Bill Perrottet, Dan McKemey, Jane Munro (DPI Rural Recovery Officer) local agronomists from both Elders and Grazag, Rural Adversity Mental Health Program and the Guyra Bowling Club for their support of the event.
Contact Kylie Falconer, 0427 325 901
Image: Local landholders listen to New England Weeds Authority’s Trent McIntyre, presenting on, How to identify Chilean Needle Grass seed.
Media Release: Guyra and Surrounds Graziers Focus on Chilean Needle Grass: 21st Dec 2021
