A charity tasked with supplying hay to flood-affected graziers in western Queensland says fears fodder drops are being held up by biosecurity concerns over red fire ants are unfounded.
As the flooding disaster unfolded this week, Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries engaged Rural Aid, a not-for-profit that supports farmers during natural disasters, to coordinate hay and feed drops for animals that managed to survive the rising water.
Helicopters fill the skies of western Queensland, delivering much-needed hay to stranded livestock. (Supplied: Andrea Speed)
More than 1,000 bales of hay have since been delivered.
But a truck driver from the Scenic Rim who volunteered to transport hay 1,000km west to Quilpie has vented his frustration on social media after his offer was rejected by Rural Aid.
“[Rural Aid] told us they don’t want any hay out of South East Queensland with a declaration with being sprayed or fumigated (for red fire ants),” Kris Jennings said in the video.
“They’ve openly admitted … that they have enough hay out there and they don’t want it.”
‘Dozens’ of farmers keen to donate
The viral video prompted outrage from farmers wanting to donate hay, and concern from those in the flood zone that much-needed feed was being diverted.
Rural Aid chief executive John Warlters said fodder from inside the fire ant suppression zone would not be sent west.
“Our policy is that we do not transport fodder from fire ant zones outside of those zones,”
he said.
But Mr Warlters said deliveries from elsewhere would continue.
“We haven’t stopped anyone from delivering fodder, that’s not our role, we don’t have the authority to do that,” he said.
Mr Warlters said the group was working with “dozens” of farmers wanting to donate, and it was important to ensure it was not wasted.
Cattle at Retreat Station surround a helicopter that dropped hay for them. (Supplied: Andrea Speed)
“They want to be a part of this solution because there’s probably been a moment in time where they’ve been impacted by scenarios like this,”
he said.
“This is their turn and they want to make a difference.”
However, he said damaged roads meant only so many helicopter drops could be done in a day.
The state government recently announced an extra $24 million to fight the invasive red fire ant, which has spread throughout the south-east, injuring people and animals.
Mr Warlters said anyone wanting to donate hay to graziers in western Queensland should contact Rural Aid to ensure it was safe to do so.
High need vs high risk
Graziers in the west understand the risk that well-intentioned hay donations can bring.
In 2015, warnings were issued after fodder sent to drought-affect producers was linked to the death of 30 sheep west of Longreach.
But sheep and cattle producer Murray Todd said without the generosity of others, his surviving stock would not have eaten for 10 days.
“They’ve got to get some food,” he said.
“It’s a magnificent gesture — you can’t thank them enough.”
He said without the 24 bales of much-needed hay — from outside the fire ant exclusion zone — that were delivered to his property south west of Eulo, more animals would have died.
“It doesn’t rain feed and it doesn’t rain money,” Mr Todd said.
Jacqueline Slipais’s horse developed an abscess after being bitten by fire ants (Supplied: Invasive Species Council)
Responding to the social media video, Queensland’s chief biosecurity officer Rachel Chay said a spread of fire ants to the west would be catastrophic for agriculture and the broader economy.
“It is not worth the risk to supply fodder sourced from within the red imported fire ant exclusion zone,” Ms Chay said.
Truck driver’s hay to be delivered
Department of Primary Industries director general Graeme Bolton said biosecurity officers had reached out to the truck driver in the social media video to inspect the offered hay and had given it a clean bill of health.
“We’ve come to a solution where we can support them to do that [delivery],” he said.
Mr Bolton said it was likely to arrive in Quilpie this weekend.
“The primary producers who receive that hay [can] have peace of mind that they’re getting hay free of fire ants,” he said.
“The last thing we want though is for fire ants to be introduced outside of our restricted area and into the south west.
‘They’ve got enough to deal with at the moment without having to worry about responding to fire ants.”
In its latest hay report, the Australian Fodder Industry Association (AFIA) said the fire ants ability to “raft” in heavy rain and flooding increased the risk its of spread throughout river catchments.
“Once the water recedes, these rafts settle on the ground, potentially establishing new nests in places that did not previously have fire ants,”
the report said.
It said fodder prices had been rising over the past few weeks, as drought and rain across the country saw supply tighten at a time many producers were buying feed to prepare for winter.
In its report, the AFIA urged producers to feed test and inspect fodder to ensure its safety.
