PRIMARY producers in Southeast Queensland met on Saturday to discuss solutions to what they say is an unsustainable and bureaucratic approach to fire ant management.
The community meeting at Stockyard Creek Community Hall was attended by more than 30 hay producers and industry partners.
The Producers Fire Ant Action Group was formed which will be led by hay agent Jake Holzheimer and hay farmer Don Bichel.
The Group wants a shift from a top-down compliance model to one that is stakeholder-led and informed by local knowledge.
The hay farmers estimated they had lost between them tens of millions of dollars in lost trade from their Lockyer Valley farms because of biosecurity measures they believed had crippled farming budgets.
They said fire ant alarm had led to a negative perception of the area, as one which was infested with fire ants when in many cases that was untrue.
“Lockyer Valley has always been known as one of the very best hay growing regions in the southern hemisphere,” Mr Holzheimer said.
“Now it is regarded as a dirty area full of fire ants.
“Yet all the farms I visit daily either have never had fire ants or – if they ever did – it was one nest five years ago that straight away got dealt with.
“Farmers are struggling mentally and financially and there continues to be a lack of support from the government despite its promises of help.
“If a buyer were looking for a hay farm to buy, do you think they would buy in an area that has been so poorly portrayed and covered in red tape?
“Probably they would head to somewhere like New South Wales or Victoria where they are freer to do what they want.
“The Producers Fire Ant Action Group marks the start of a broader push for change because the way things are now is too restrictive.
“All we want is to make a living, a fair, honest living that is based on evidence-based policies.
“If there were fire ants on these farms and people were being bitten while loading hay, we would support stricter measures, but most farmers have never even seen a fire ant.
“There is not going to be a farming industry left at this rate.
“Farmers have put in blood, sweat, and tears building up their farms, but they aren’t going to have anything left to hand to the next generation.
“Biosecurity used to work with us but now it seems they are working against us without any care for the effects it is having on anyone.”
The farmers believed eradication of the pest was no longer achievable and called for a long-term management strategy developed alongside farmers.
Hay producers currently contend with strict limitations on baling times and restrictions on the movement of hay products.
The farmers pointed to inconsistencies in fire ant management such as the lack of treatment and oversight on government-owned land such as reserves, footpaths, and public spaces and that National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP) compliance officers and their vehicles might inadvertently contribute to the spread of fire ants while travelling from different properties.