A MICE plague reminiscent of 2011 on the Yorke Peninsula and Lower North has made some farmers wary of seeding too soon.
Lower North farmer Derek Tiller says he is likely to make a start in the next two weeks - but he will be spreading bait behind his air cart.
"Mice numbers are bad on our stony country at Pinery, but on the red ground at Mallala there's not a big problem," he said.
"Numbers there are nowhere near as bad."
Derek says the question at the moment is whether to go hard with baiting or leave the population to increase and then die out naturally.
"I am concerned numbers are pretty high, and there's a lot of activity in the paddock," he said.
"We lost a lot of grain before harvest with the strong winds, and mice numbers have been building since then.
"We have been buying bait as we saw the situation unfold.
"At this stage, I'm not going overboard on baiting, as I understand they can starve themselves out."
YP consulant and GRDC southern panel member Bill Long said reports of mice activity were widespread across the YP and Lower North.
"I think numbers now are as bad as in 2011," he said.
Mr Lang said numbers had been building since the last harvest when winds caused significant grain spillage.
* Full report in Stock Journal, April 10, 2014 issue.
