Victorian land managers say they agree with the latest figures, released by Australia's peak agricultural economics body, showing pest and weed control is costing them about $22,000 a year.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences report on pests and weeds shows 85 per cent of land managers spent about $21,950 on pest and weed management last year.
"I can vouch for probably spending that much, yes," Victorian Farmers Federation Livestock Group vice-president and Bethanga beef and sheep producer Peter Star said.
"My spend was more on weeds, in particular blackberries - it got to the point where I had done a lot of work on them but then took my hand off the throttle for about 12 months or two years."
He said wet winters provided ideal conditions for the weed to flourish.
"I had guys hand spraying but I also had to get a helicopter, in there as well," he said.
"There was also a lot of Bathurst Burr and even St John's Wort."
Mr Star said it was beyond his ability to keep individual plants controlled.
"I think a lot of contractors you talk to had a big backlog, I know I had a backlog of 12 months with the helicopter," he said.
"They are very conscious, particularly with the woodier weeds, of spraying under the tree line."
Blackberries resulted in big losses in productivity, particularly in pasture production, he said.
"There were no blackberries 30-40 years ago, there was the isolated blackberry in the creek that you more or less lived with," he said.
"It's incredible as to how, in the last 15-20 years, they have spread everywhere."
Even if farmers were doing to control work themselves, they had to put a value on their time and the chemicals they used.
"A lot of farmers don't place enough value on what their own time is worth," Mr Star said.
ABARES executive director Jared Greenville said the results of the land manager survey demonstrated the level of commitment required by land managers to control pests and weeds was increasing.
"Land managers reported that feral animals continue to cause considerable impacts on their properties in 2022," Dr Greenville said.
"The survey showed 89 per cent of land managers reported problems due to feral animals in 2022, up from 85pc in 2019."
Foxes, rabbits, rats and mice were the most common species reported as causing problems.
"There have also been reports of feral animals that are new to properties or have increased in numbers, such as feral pigs and deer, that are causing damage," he said.
About three-quarters of land managers continued to manage pest animals on their properties through various means.
"Ground shooting was the most common management activity, used by about 7pc of land managers," Dr Greenville said.
"Pesticide and/or insecticide use and ground baiting were also popular control measures, used by around 50pc of land managers."
Victorian Farmers Federation Planning, Environment and Climate Change committee chair Gerald Leach said he wasn't surprised by the figure.
"That's consistent with figures we have seen in the past and it obviously gets more expensive, all the time, because of the increased cost of chemicals and other things," he said.
"The important thing here is that no farmer, on their own, can control those sorts of things - we need a collective effort.
"We need government, industry and community partnerships, for pest and weed management and where there is an interface between public and private land, the public land manager has a different perspective, perhaps, than the private land manager.
"We need to understand each other's perspective and work together to get better co-ordination."
He agreed that rabbits, foxes, wild pigs, wild dogs and deer were the main pest species in Victoria.
"Deer are very obvious now, wild pigs are increasing in number," he said.
The four community pest management groups across Victoria, for rabbits, ragwort, serrated tussock and blackberries, were making gains, he said.
"That's a model that showing good outcomes, but it's got a long way to go," he said.
Dr Greenville said there was also a small but meaningful increase in reports of weed-related problems on properties since 2019.
Around 60pc of land managers reported problems with Weeds of National Significance in 2022, up from 58pc in 2019.
"The most common weeds that were reported as being new to the property were Fireweed, Feathertop Rhodes grass, Fleabane, African Lovegrass, Thistles and Giant Rats' Tail Grassl grass," he said.
For more information from the pest animals and weed management survey, visit: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/social-sciences/pest-animals-weed-management-survey
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
