Growers with crops where fall armyworm can survive when their preferred food crop is unavailable have a duty of care to spray to ensure the state's agricultural landscape is not impacted by the pest.
But persuading growers who may harbour FAW infestations with little damage to spray for a pest which does not cause them any economic loss, can be complex, according to Bowen Gumlu Growers Association Regional Development Officer Dave Shorten.
Mr Shorten chaired the session 'RD&E Investment: Building Industry Capacity to manage FAW' at the 2024 National Fall Armyworm Symposium on April 17, which discussed how all elements of the agricultural industry needed to work together to manage the pest.
"Fall armyworm certainly has its preferred foods and in our area it's sweet corn which is a major crop and it has done a great deal of damage," he said.
"FAW also prefers sorghum, maize, French millet and oats and its also caused damage to capsicums and some to sorghum in the Burdekin and Ayr."
Mr Shorten said a massive issue for growers was the FAW taking shelter in neighbouring cane crops when its preferred foods were not available.
"In the past we have observed crops not adversely affected by FAW such as sugar cane where the pest can hold up year round until its preferred crop such as sorghum or vegetables become available," he said.
"It's understandably hard to get cane growers to spray for a pest which does not cause their crop any harm."
However, Mt Shorten said he believed all growers, no matter their industry had a duty of care to not only themselves and their neighbouring farmers, but also the enter agricultural industry if the FAW was to be managed effectively.
"We need to get growers to look at the larger picture," he said.
"We need to try and get growers starting to think about the larger landscape, it' not only about your farm it's about the whole landscape."
FAW can wait out tough times in summer sorghum cover crop as well as in Rhodes grass and Sudan.
"I am not quite sure what the answer is," Mr Shorten said.
""The question came up many times at the symposium."
The FAW matter had grown to such an extent Mr Shorten said it is threatening every single aspect of the industry.
"I think until recently some areas in ag saw FAW as only impacting growers," Mr Shorten said
"Everyone must look at the bigger picture including graziers as well, because if FAW is destroying feed for livestock, what will they do?
"Corn, maize, and millet are all grown for food for dairy, cattle and sheep, so this is a bigger problem than broadacre farming and this year we have seen unprecedented damage across crops."
Canegrowers Mossman chair Matt Watson said he was sympathetic to the issue of neighbouring growers dealing with pests, but admitted "it's a complicated issue."
"How do you tell your neighbour across the road how to farm, especially when it's a it totally different industry," he said.
"For example our industry has a problem with cane grubs.
"If I don't manage mine and they breed up in my paddock while my neighbour spends a lot of money spraying his, it's the same sort of issue - and it all come down to dollars.
"If I could afford to pay for his chemicals then I would.
"It's unfortunately a very complicated issue."
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