INTRODUCTION
Biosecurity is a term used to encompass the issues of disease, pests and weeds in relation to agricultural operations. A simple explanation is to reduce the risk of external biological factors harming or impacting on the normal day to day running of the enterprise. The majority of biosecurity issues are managed by governments at a state or regulatory level and by individual farmers at a farm level. All external factors that impact on the health of the ecosystem are biosecurity matters.
Biosecurity can include:
- Managing livestock health
- Managing plant health
- Reducing disease risk or spread
- Reducing weed risk or spread
It may need to deal with:
- Animal movement
- People movement
- Product movement
- Equipment and vehicles movement
- Seed or grain or fibre movement
Biosecurity issues can:
- Reduce on-farm productivity
- Affect farm income
- Affect animal welfare
- Reduce the value of farming land
- Close export markets and reduce export prices
A sound Grains BMP would maintain a vigilant eye for potential weed issues, disease issues and crop health issues that may impact on yield and profitability.