Farmers brace for worst locust plague in decades (on top of mouse plague)

[depakid]

The worst locust plague in 30 years is expected to hit regional New South Wales in the coming weeks, and the State Government has begun measures to control the outbreak.

Warmer than usual temperatures in the west have experts predicting that locusts will hatch in vast numbers around Warren, Coonamble, Brewarrina and Bourke by mid-August. Minister for Primary Industries Steve Whan says more than $18 million is being committed to battling the locusts, but property owners need to do their part as well.

"One of the big challenges for us is to try and make sure people do keep an eye on their properties," he said. "We will have 40 planes which we'll be doing aerial surveillance with, but we really do need land owners to keep an eye on their land themselves. "Our biggest challenge is in those areas where there's absentee land holders - they need to be ensuring that someone is keeping an eye on their properties."

Mr Whan says the outbreak may be the worst in 30 years. "Conditions have been good for locusts to breed, as well as good for growing of crops ... and so our challenge this year is to try and minimise the impact of this locust plague," he said.

More: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/09/2976990.htm

If that's not bad enough- check out the mouse plague:


Mice eating everything in sight.
-------

Mouse plague 'worse than drought'

Hundreds of thousands of hectares of new crops have been devoured across South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia in the worst mouse plague since 1993.

Farmers warn the infestation could be more costly than a drought. Little has been spared as the rodents have swarmed on sheds, silos and freshly-sown seed.

Streaky Bay farmer in SA Leon Williams is astounded by the numbers. "You come out here in the night time and it's just literally a moving mass of mice in their millions," he said.

"This could be an absolute disaster, worse than the drought."

Last season's bumper harvest around Streaky Bay created the perfect conditions for mice to multiply by providing lots of leftover food and shelter. Port Kenny farmer Craig Kelsh says the damage is extensive. "I've seen bad mouse plagues before but I've never seen the damage that they're doing in the paddocks like they're doing this year," he said.

While some farmers are trying to recover by sowing again, others have given up on their cropping program. A common complaint has been the price of zinc phosphide wheat baits most farmers have been using to try to protect their crops. "To me it seems outrageous when we're paying $1,200 for a drum of bait that there's $25 worth of wheat there," Mr Kelsh said.

Philip Morrow, of Animal Control Technologies, has defended the cost. "I don't think they really understand the cost of meeting occupational health and safety requirements, quality, storage, transport," he said. For its part, the South Australian Government will not be offering any relief, despite having set up a working party to review its policy on mouse plagues.

More: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/05/2944529.htm

[CoffeeCat]

1. Are we rapture ready?

...or maybe not?

;)

[aquart]

2. No, but this is beginning to look a whole lot like Passover.

May I suggest that the next time they slaughter sheep for a nice barbecue, they smear the blood on the door jamb?

[BlueJazz]

3. My God!....it's worse than I imagined !

[depakid]

5. Check out the 1993 plague that was referred to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3RLmErp43k

[BlueJazz]

7. Geez....I've got 2 pet Rats and they even find it creepy.

[pinboy3niner]

4. Kudos to CoffeeCat, aquart and BlueJazz

Great responses and a great way to start the thread! :rofl:

[Sherman A1]

6. Combine this with the fires/drought in Russia

and I see wheat prices going through the roof.

[NickB79]

8. The first good growing season in years, and they get plagues of mice and locusts

Something tells me the future isn't looking too bright for the Aussies.

[felix_numinous]

9. Let loose the kitties

and actually non poisonous snakes would really help.

[pscot]

10. Recced for alliteration

It lends an epic tone to the story.

[JoeyT]

11. The US will probably have mouse plagues of their own in the next few decades.

Once we manage to obliterate all their predators because we think they're "icky" or they scare/annoy us.