Peak body Cotton Australia is urging all farmers to be vigilant and take appropriate action to avoid a repeat of last year’s “devastating” spray drift incidents.
According to the peak body, the 2022-23 season saw one of the worst years on record for spray drift incidents, with some farmers suffering millions of dollars worth of lost production. In the McIntyre and Balonne regions alone, producers reportedly lost tens of millions in production due to spray drift.
Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay said last year’s impact was widespread with farmers reporting moderate to severe spray drift incidents on the Darling Downs, in St George district, Dirranbandi, Mungindi, Gwydir, Lower Namoi, Walgett and the Macquarie Valley.
“We need a whole-of agriculture response to minimise the impact of off-target drift,” Kay said. “It’s not just cotton growers who are suffering extreme hardship when drift from others impacts their crops, but grain growers and other farmers are being hit hard during spray season and there is no one-fix solution.”
To drive its message this year, Cotton Australia will launch an education and advertising campaign, utilising all available communication channels, to combat this. It comes as the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in New South Wales launches their own campaign to crack down on spray drift.
In early October this year, the NSW EPA executive director of regulatory practice and services Steve Beaman said the organisation won’t hesitate to take action against anyone who is spraying pesticides irresponsibly or deliberately causing harm.
“We’ve got around 15 investigations underway in Griffith, Narromine, Carrathool, Moree, Forbes, Warren and Yallaroi – we’re looking at people who may be operating without a license and others who are spraying in the kind of weather where pesticides are likely to drift and cause damage,” Beaman said. “The harm is really serious – we’ve seen farmers lose more than a year’s income just from someone spraying recklessly. It’s devastating and it’s got to stop.”
Last year, Cotton Australia joined forces with other agricultural groups, the Australian Government registration authority and supply regulator of agricultural chemical products, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and enforcement agencies to promote best practice and warn about the implications of non-compliance.
“We also called for more boots on the ground, so all stakeholders could see action was being taken to crack down on those doing the wrong thing and support those impacted. I’m pleased to say that the regulators appear to be listening,” Kay said.
According to Cotton Australia, the potential for another major spray drift season depends on numerous factors, including the practices of farmers and contractors applying chemicals and the conditions prevalent at the time of application.
There is the potential for greater damage if spraying occurs under ‘hazardous inversion’ conditions when cold air is trapped near the ground and spray droplets can remain suspended in the air for hours and can travel many kilometres beyond the intended target. This mostly occurs at night.
Past spray drift events have indicated that some people are not applying in accordance with approved label instructions, or that the label instructions for some products may need review.