VICTORIAN authorities are preparing for the expected locust plague with more than 80 reports of locust hatchings in the state's north-west received by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
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After visiting the first incident control centre established in Victoria (in Mildura) to respond to the expected plague, Premier John Brumby and Agriculture Minister Joe Helper yesterday urged landholders to report locust activity to the DPI.
They also pressed farmers to be ready with chemicals to spray locust hoppers themselves.
''It's vital farmers and other landholders are ready to spray - with the best time [being] when locusts are still in the hopper stage about two weeks after hatching and before they can fly,'' Mr Helper said.
Mr Brumby also repeated the earlier warning that if left untreated the expected plague could cost Victorian agriculture $2 billion.
The Australian Plague Locust Commission predicts that the peak hatching date for locusts in the north-west Mallee region of Victoria around towns such as Mildura and Ouyen will be September 25.
