Improving biosecurity standards on the Northern Adelaide Plains is the main aim of a new program titled 'Clean Your Farm', which was launched in Two Wells on Tuesday morning.
Primary Industries Minister Mr Whetstone said the program would involve on-farm and nursery site visits and the provision of tool disinfection kits, information resources and industry workshops, in order to assist horticultural growers to improve their biosecurity planning.
The program will also put an emphasis on ensuring information is available to producers in the region with English as their second language.
"We have a buoyant and robust Vietnamese community out here that do an amazing job, but they need help, as do all the other farms and all the nationalities that make up the Northern Adelaide Plains sector," Mr Whetstone said.
It's an important first step in cleaning up the region and protecting ourselves from biosecurity incursions.
- JORDAN BROOKE-BARNETT
The initiative has been jointly funded by the SA State Government and AUSVEG SA, with Mr Whetstone saying the provision of education and support in the program will bring producers together to strengthen their on-farm biosecurity arrangements.
"It's about having a look at our own backyard, leading by example, and showing our community we are responsible farmers who have an understanding of what biosecurity means to our farming enterprises," he said.
AUSVEG SA chief executive officer Jordan Brooke-Barnett said the initiative was needed in the area, and would act as a springboard to constant improvement of biosecurity in the region.
"It's an important first step in cleaning up the region and protecting ourselves from biosecurity incursions," he said.
