Weeds in hay

Risks and responsibilities

If you are sourcing hay, grain or other fodder from off your own farm, you must consider the biosecurity risks that importing this feed may have to your farm business.

When seasonal conditions dictate the need to bring in fodder to feed livestock, there is a very good chance that some of the hay brought in has weeds in it.

The Biosecurity Act 2015 places certain obligations on both vendors and purchasers who sell, purchase and transport fodder within NSW and interstate.

Even weeds in locally produced hay and other fodder could have different resistance spectrums to those on your own property. 

After rain is a good time to get out and identify what weeds are coming up in areas where fodder has been fed out or stored.

It is important to record and monitor areas where fodder has been used so you can identify and control any weed incursions quickly before it has an economic impact on you or your neighbours.

There is support available from both Local Land Services and regional councils to assist producers to identify weeds and provide tactics for control.

Biosecurity and importing fodder

Biosecurity in the fodder industry is largely managed through the General Biosecurity Duty where everyone has a duty to minimise the impact and risk of weeds and pests in NSW.

Bans and controls in NSW

There are a number of feed substances that are either banned or strictly controlled from entering NSW, including:

• All lupin material grown in WA and SA is banned from entering NSW (except under strict permit conditions), to protect our state from lupin anthracnose
• All fodder grown in areas where green snail infestations have been identified (green snail is known to occur in areas of WA and Victoria).
• Hay or chaff material contaminated with the tomato potato psyllid
• Hay or straw sourced from an area where red imported fire ants are known to occur (only from certain areas of Queensland).
• Hay or straw from areas known to have infestations of parthenium weed or branched broomrape are prohibited.

For more about importing prohibited or controlled materials see Entry requirements for fodder (DPIRD). 

Identify weeds in hay

Knowing where your hay has come from, having a vendor’s declaration and looking for weeds in the hay as you feed it out will give you an idea of what to look out for.

If you see anything unusual, contact your agronomist, your local council weeds officer or your LLS Biosecurity Officer/Ag Advisor.

It can be helpful to bring in samples of plants or seeds.

If you suspect herbicide resistant weeds have entered your property speak to LLS Ag Advisory staff or your agronomist about getting them tested.

Remember if it is something unusual, get it identified!

Monitor for new weeds

Hopefully all producers have a farm biosecurity plan, which includes limiting the area that hay or other fodder is spread and marking feed-out and storage areas on a farm map. If this has been done, it makes it a lot easier to monitor these areas for weeds.

It is also important to monitor paddocks that stock have had access to, as some seed can be viable after traveling through the digestive system. Using confined feeding or a sacrifice paddock makes this much easier.

While you are looking for weeds, check roadways where fodder has been carted as well as waterways and timbered areas as feral and native animals may be helping themselves to your introduced fodder.

Lastly, if you know that your neighbour has been feeding stock it might be advisable to check your fence lines. Ideally you should monitor for weeds 12 days after a seasonal break rainfall event and you should continue doing this for at least 2 years.

Control at the first sign of new weeds

Know which weeds are notifiable in your region. Refer to your Regional Strategic Weed Management Plan or use the WeedWise app to search for and identify weeds and their control methods.

Weeds such as Parthenium weed or Gamba Grass must be reported to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) on 1800 680 244. DPIRD will assist you in eradicating these weeds.

If you have identified weeds that are new to your property, control them early to prevent seed set.

If practical, manually remove weeds (avoid contact with Parthenium weed). In cases where weeds are flowering and beginning to set seed, please remove weeds and place in a secured area for burning to ensure any seed is destroyed.

If chemical control is warranted, speak to your agronomist or advisor and always follow the label directions.

It is important to re-inspect the area (and surrounding areas) to make sure all weeds are controlled. Make this a regular practice, as a certain proportion of seed will stay dormant over several years, depending on weed species.

Some weed seeds may persist for 2-3 years (annual Ryegrass, Fireweed and Parthenium weed) and others are likely to persist for much longer, for example over 10 years for wild radish.