Prevent weed spread: industry and recreation

If you work in the pastoral industry there are things you can do to prevent the spread of weeds in the Northern Territory (NT).

The pastoral industry in the NT usually involves large tracts of semi-arid land with little clearing of native vegetation.

If you allow weeds to grow they can impact on your productivity and management costs.

Weed spread to your pastoral property can be done via either:

• local and interstate transport of stock, particularly when livestock eat and defecate weed seeds
• or import and transport weed seed in hay and fodder or attached to machinery.

How to prevent weed spread

You can do all of the following to prevent the spread of weeds in the pastoral industry:

• map locations and densities of declared weeds by carrying out a dedicated weed survey and send it to the Weed Management Branch
• use weed mapping data to develop an annual property weed management plan
• make sure your staff can identify relevant weeds in the area
• eradicate all Class A weed species and report them to the Weed Management Branch
• make it your priority to control weeds along waterways
• you must follow weed management plans
• apply an integrated approach to weed management including stock exclusion through fencing
• isolate incoming stock in a quarantine paddock for at least seven days, particularly those coming from Queensland and Western Australia
• isolate stock mustered from infested paddocks into a quarantine paddock for at least seven days prior to transporting them off station
• monitor quarantine paddocks so you can detect any newly-established weeds early and control them right away
• clean machinery and vehicles before moving them between paddocks
• check your weed cleaning areas after rain and treat emerging weeds
• clean your trucks after delivering stock
• seek advice from the Weed Management Branch before introducing new pasture species.

What you're not allowed to do

You must not do any of the following on your pastoral property:

• deliberately sow or plant any declared weeds for improved pasture - it is illegal to do so
• buy, sell or move contaminated hay, fodder or manure.