We are constantly reminded of how the Great Barrier Reef is in danger of degrading to the point where it will no longer be an icon.
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These statements are followed by a lot of finger pointing as to who is to blame for its demise and then another request for more government funds to do more research to try and fix the problem.
I am sure we all agree that the last thing we want is to lose this natural wonder of the world.
However we don't seem to be noticing a similar problem onshore where weed degradation is causing our food producing land to come under the same type of pressure.
These weeds, which are mostly introduced, are quickly spreading and choking our landscape to the point that production is being severely affected.
It is now at the stage where chemical, machinery and labour costs are way above the threshold that current landholders can afford to enable them to rid the land of the weeds that infest most properties.
While there are some landholders that attack these weeds with gusto and try to manage them, there are others who just put up the white flag and surrender.
Unfortunately the surrender option is cheap and easy, so of course this makes it the popular choice.
Currently only small areas of land are being preserved weed free and the wave of weeds will eventually win if large scale funding and a will to do something does not happen soon.
Natural events like flooding and current road transport practices that allow goods and livestock to be moved long distances have allowed weeds to spread to new districts overnight.
This means we should be constantly on the look-out for new infestations coming in and to deal with them immediately before you have to look your neighbour in the eye and say "Sorry mate, those weeds are away here and coming at you fast".
As for the big picture, how do we reverse the trend and get the number of weeds on the decrease rather than on the increase?
This will need a paradigm shift from many of the stakeholders as well as a lot of government money and funded man hours.
In the meantime, the clock is ticking and the longer we leave it the bigger the job and the bigger the cost will be.
We as current custodians of the land must not kill the goose that lays the golden egg and tackle head on this weed infestation that is slowly strangling our valuable land.
- Georgetown grazier Greg Ryan
