In Victoria, the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 provides a legislative framework for the management of land, including the control of declared noxious weeds and pest animals.

The Act sets out the responsibilities of private and public land managers, stating that they must take all reasonable steps to:

Avoid causing or contributing to land degradation which causes or may cause damage to land of another owner.

Conserve soil.

Protect water resources.

Eradicate regionally prohibited weeds. (check the classification of serrated tussock for the catchment in which you live)

Prevent the growth and spread of regionally controlled weeds. (check the classification of serrated tussock for the catchment in which you live)

Prevent the spread of, and as far as possible eradicate, established pest animals.

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) work with landowners in Victoria to ensure they comply with the provisions of the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 . DPI Staff provide advice and assistance to land managers as well as undertaking inspections and investigations of properties and premises to determine the presence of noxious weeds and pest animals.

Under the Act, it is the land owner’s responsibility to ensure the control and suppression of proclaimed noxious weeds and pest animals. If a landowner is not meeting this responsiblity a notice under the Act may be served. Failure to comply with a notice could result in a Penality Infringement Notice (PIN) being issued or the matter being heard in court.  The department also has the abilty to undertake the required pest plant or animal control works and then pursue the costs of these control works through the court system. 

Case Studies

Fiona and Peter Bailey

Key Points Summary

Through our landcare group we have reduced the serrated tussock on our property by 70%.

Having someone to coordinate the activities of everyone in the area is vital to controlling serrated tussock.

Subsidies for chemical spraying are essential to ensure continued weed control.

If the program stopped an enormous problem would emerge over the next few years.

Pentland Hills (Bacchus Marsh) 69ha, Grazing.

Peter and Fiona Bailey moved onto their 69 ha Pentland Hills property (just near Bacchus Marsh) in 1992. They moved in thinking they had acquired a "real bargain" when they were looking for only 10 acres and got an extra 160 acres for about the same price at a Mortgagees auction. It wasn’t until a few months later that they found out their "native grasses" were, in fact, serrated tussock plants, and that this serious weed covered nearly 100% of their property.

On some days when they had a good westerly wind they couldn’t get out of their back door for a snow drift of serrated tussock seed. It was so thick they had to go out the front door and clear it away before they could use the back door again.

Peter and Fiona were thinking they could feed at least 10 cows, a few sheep and their horses on the property, but reality hit early and they realised that they would be lucky to feed 2 horses only on their entire property.

The first trigger for change came in 1995 when the local DPI Compliance Officer started inspecting the properties in the area and immediately administered an enforcement approach on this property. It took a few years before anything really changed because Peter and Fiona didn’t know what to do or where to start, or even what the seriousness of their situation was.

Then in 1994 a new Land Protection Act was passed that insisted that properties must develop a whole farm plan and which outlined a program to remove both the current plants and any dormant seed banks. Peter and Fiona were left with no other option than to burn all the paddocks. This approach caused an enormous amount of grief, as not only were their paddocks completely black and lifeless but they had lost the surrounding fences and many small native trees they were hoping would cover the farm in years to come. At this stage the Department officers kept sending prosecution letters to the Bailey’s threatening to take them to court.

It wasn’t until a couple of years later through their local Landcare Group, that the local Landcare facilitator and a new enforcement officer organised some funding and coordinated an aerial spraying exercise across the region. "All of a sudden instead of hitting us over the head with a big stick, they said – here we’re going to help you". The change in personnel and approach really made a huge difference. In particular, the monetary support administered through the Landcare group rapidly progressed the management program.

Today the Bailey’s have built the management of serrated tussock into their weekly farm program. They spot spray across the property (particularly over the flat country) for about one hour each week to ensure any new plants are killed early and quickly. They plan a once yearly exercise with an 800 litre spray unit, borrowed through the Landcare Group, for a full week of spraying over the steeper country.
Peter and Fiona will also work in with the other Landcare Group members whenever there is another aerial spraying exercise.

The chemicals needed to fully suppress the tussock plants and seeds costs a lot of money (approximately $14,000 for aerial spraying). The Bailey’s maintain that they would not have been able to afford that sort of "investment" (50% subsidy of chemical) if it were not for the support through the program. The additional costs occur in time spent continuing the spray program and ensuring any new plants are dealt with rapidly. Without the support of their neighbours (all doing their bit) and the Landcare Group, it would be almost impossible to stay on top of the problem.

The benefits of all the work the Bailey’s have done is that their property is now not completely covered in serrated tussock and they are able to feed five horses instead of two all year round, even in a drought. They have also seen some of the native trees returning after the devastating "burn" experience. A final advantage has been getting the neighbours to work together on this problem rather than trying to sort it out on their own.

"In the short term there would be no affect, but in the long term there would be enormous problems because there won’t be anyone to coordinate the activities next Spring". Peter and Fiona are very aware that if the program finished they would continue spraying the areas they can get to, but the steeper, rockier country would start to buildup seed stores and subsequently new plants would emerge over the next year.

The Bailey’s see a real need for the Serrated Tussock Program to continue and to also expand it’s repertoire to look at what you do with the land once the serrated tussock has been eradicated. Exploring and advising landholders on what can be resown to reduce erosion, eliminate further weed infestation and possibly provide some sort of nutritious feed option for grazing stock.

Support and enthusiasm from the community is important.

Aerial and spot spraying plus revegetating key areas are important control methods.

The cost in time anda money is enormous - some financial support
is needed.

Research and continued education/information are needed for the future.

Enterprise - (some) Grazing, Lifestylers

"Rocklands" Melton 172ha, Some grazing.

Wendy’s family has owned their property in Melton (Truganina Shire) since 1851 when it was set up as a mixed farming/grazing property. From about 1957 until 2000 there was a tenant with stock on the property and he managed the pasture rotations. The last couple of years the paddocks have been free of stock, in the hope that the native grasses might recover and out compete the weeds.

It was a neighbour who first alerted Wendy to the presence of serrated tussock on her farm about 20 years ago. He happened to notice the rough blades and shiny edges and made a point of letting Wendy know. Before that chance comment Wendy was completely unaware of an encroaching problem. It was another comment from a local leasee that described a serious problem on an adjoining property to Wendy’s.

Wendy then made some enquiries and realised that much of her property was covered in the weed and it was spreading rapidly from paddock-to-paddock and farm-to-farm.

Originally Wendy and her husband thought they could manage the invasion of serrated tussock in the same way as they did other weeds. Digging them out as they appeared. But the tussocks kept "popping up and popping up". Wendy made further enquiries as the urgency and support from the broader community grew over time. It was about 5 years after Wendy’s first sighting of serrated tussock that the Melton Shire got interested.

Through the efforts of the Shire and some dedicated local community members, great enthusiasm was generated by the neighbours in the area to get on top of the growing problem.

Back in the sixties the departmental assistance from the "Weeds Officer" was one of support, education and constant reminders. But today there is real pressure to make changes and keep on top of the problem.

These days, Wendy’s daily activities are governed by the pressing need to spray for weed control. Wendy spends at least 2 hours every day spraying for some type of pest management. The serrated tussock control period lasts from about April through to October each year, although spot spraying can occur outside this period.

The biggest gains Wendy has made have been through aerial spraying and tree planting exercises. Aerial spraying was organised by the local landcare group coordinator a few years ago, and the results from this exercise were excellent. "This was the best money I had ever spent…I wish I had spent the same money and done this paddock beside the house". Due to dwindling funds this support and coordination through a landcare facilitator does not occur any more.

More recently Wendy has invested some time and effort into planting native trees in about 80 acres of her farm and this was made possible through the support of Greening Australia. The trees have responded quite well (although some are struggling in the recent dry conditions) and in future Wendy can see they will help strip tussock seed from the prevailing winds. In addition to the 80 acres Wendy had support through Landcare in planting some strips of trees along a fence line. Unfortunately at the moment the tussock is winning over these trees, "the tussock got here well before the trees had grown high enough to be a filter".

These days, with no revenue coming from the farm, the costs are high and persistent and the benefits minimal. For each aerial spraying exercise Wendy needs to spend about $3000-4000.

On top of this expense there are the daily expenses of chemicals and at least 2 hours every day all year round of Wendy’s time. But the biggest cost is in the mental anguish that Wendy experiences each day.

The benefits have been seeing the community come together, and especially the assistance from Landcare in providing the initial trees for the tree planting program. Also, seeing the Greening Australia tree program take shape over recent years has been a real boost to the morale and has proven that there is a future for quite unarable land.

Wendy sees the Serrated Tussock Program happening more in the "inaccessible areas" like Rowsley Valley, she doesn’t see the program really affecting or benefiting the Melton area. Most of Wendy’s knowledge from the department has reached her through other people who have more directly dealt with the departmental staff.

Wendy says that the support and resourcing through both the Shire and the Truganina Landcare group are fundamental to ensuring continued efforts in managing serrated tussock.

There were two key areas that Wendy saw for the future of the Serrated Tussock Program. There is a definite need for continuing the flow of information about serrated tussock and its possible control methods. The second area was for continued research into new chemical or biological control methods to ensure we are endeavouring to manage the rapid spread and reduce the need for reliance on continued spraying.

Management of serrated tussock needs to be embedded into a 12 month farm program.

Continued enforcement is essential to combat the spread.

Community members working together makes a difference.

Local landcare groups have started as a result of serrated tussock.

Enterprise - Fine Merino Wool, Cropping

"Nerada", Anakie 1252ha; Wool and Cereal Cropping

The Browne family has owned this property since 1862 although there was a change of hands for a period of 10 years between 1904 and 1914. But it was only in the early 80’s that David was first alerted to the presence of serrated tussock. David was taken by surprise when he was shown the tussock plants on his place, but the enormity of the problem didn’t strike him then, in spite of what the inspector had told them what was in front of them he still thought "Oh, no. . .this is nothing".

From this very first observation, David started treating the tussock plants by spot spraying, but unfortunately the problem kept getting more and more serious over the years until now, where serrated tussock covers the entire property.

The first trigger was when an inspector from the then Lands Department showed the tussock to David and outlined the potential risk. At that stage there were only a couple of patches. David didn’t realise that at that stage those patches had actually seeded and spread. Then over the next few years David saw the little seedlings in other paddocks, "it just goes on and on". And then when David started to notice the seedlings in places where it could not have spread from his own property he realised the insidiousness of the plant and the effect it was having across the region.

It was through both the former Land Protection Advisory Committee and the later advent of the Corio Landcare Group where most of David’s information was picked up. In fact, the local landcare group was started because of serrated tussock, in the hope that the neighbouring properties would work together to help solve this dilemma.

Originally, David spent time on his own spot spraying the property, killing seedlings as he saw them. But over time the problem grew beyond the scope of only one person. So today the Browne’s employ contractors to help with the spraying and David is solely responsible for managing that part of the business.

Today the management of serrated tussock is embedded into the overall farm management. As David says "[serrated tussock management] is part of the twelve month program of farm management here on this place".

In the near future David and Andrew are considering using some aerial spraying as part of the 12-month program due to the expense of employing contractors throughout the year.

There are many costs in the current management and only a few benefits. David outlined the current expenses to his business as a result of managing the weed. Since July 1999 a total of $47,000 has been spent of chemicals, contractors, labour and miscellaneous equipment. On top of that there has been about $26,000 spent on larger plant items to assist with the constant job of spot spraying. This has resulted in a total monetary cost of about $73,000 just in the last four and a half years.

Of course there are other "costs" to the business which aren’t as tangible nor as obvious. The constancy of the problem slowly wears away at people’s confidence and self-esteem.

The constant vigilance has meant that the Browne’s business is still viable and their land value has not completely been devalued. There has also been the added benefit that it has created some enthusiasm amongst farmers or people involved in agriculture that they have cleaned up tussock. This sense of being part of something that the community is working towards has meant that some people have started to believe in the departmental programs and that they can work if we work together.

From both Andrew and David’s point of view if the Serrated Tussock Program stopped it would be like admitting failure. The program has offered a real opportunity for the affected farmers to keep farming in the area, and there is so much more that still needs to be controlled. David also outlined the possibility that if the program stopped some landowners would not keep on top of the problem and subsequently the whole cycle would start over again.

In the future David sees the need for continued enforcement and therefore more on-ground inspectors to ensure people are complying with their responsibilities. There needs to be more dissemination of information to landholders and more personal contact from compliance officers.

From David’s point of view there seems to be a reliance on sending notices to get landholders to deal with the problem, whereas a more personal approach where the enforcement officer meets the landholder, discusses the issue and explores their understanding and past experiences, might produce a better response. "A notice should be the last resort".

Another final option that David sees for the future is to invest in some research that looks at other means of control, whether it is biological or chemical "we need something else desperately".

Assessing your property risks helps with management.

Discussion and support from the landcare group coordinated our efforts.

Good pasture management, aerial and spot spraying and shelter belts help control the serrated tussock.

There is still a major problem in some areas which requires continued effort and support.

Enterprise - Grazing (Beef and Sheep)

"Emly Park", East Moorabool 688ha, Grazing.

Jim Seager moved on to the Mt Wallace property, Emly Park, almost 12 years ago to manage it for the property owner, Brendan Egan. It had been a family farm since 1838 and had historically been more "disturbed" by agricultural practices than some other areas in the region. When Jim moved on to manage this property in 1991 it is was a total of 700 acres (283 ha), but after buying the adjoining properties the farm size grew to it’s current size of 1700 acres (688 ha). Throughout the property some areas of steep country were originally seriously infested with serrated tussock.

The steep country is very unproductive, difficult to manage, difficult to get on to, due to the steepness of the grade, and therefore fertilising is difficult. "It is not really very economic, so a lot of managers in the area have just left it and periodically put stock in there".

The biggest issue for Jim (as for many new land managers) when he first moved to the area was that he didn’t know what serrated tussock was. It was through a planning process with the local landcare group that he became exposed to the weed and realised how noxious it was. It was when the landcare group members highlighted serrated tussock as the top priority weed for the region that the realisation set in about the importance of managing this weed’s spread across the whole catchment.

Jim has tried various management options over the years ranging from burning through to spot spraying. In 1995 he started developing a long-term management plan to replace serrated tussock with a mixture of trees. As a result of this approach Jim took on the role of project manager for the East Moorabool Landcare Group to coordinate a similar effort on a much larger scale across the catchment.

The first step was to do a risk assessment of his place and the adjoining properties. He looked at where the risk to the property was and found the majority of infested areas were located in the north or western paddocks – where the prevailing winds settled.

From these early planning exercises significant shelterbelts throughout the property have been established that not only improve stock health but also provide a filter for seed drift arriving on the prevailing winds. Any seed that falls below the trees generally doesn’t survive but just in case, spot spraying occurs around the shelter strips. An additional and necessary strategy employed on Emly Park has been good grazing management practices to ensure any serrated tussock plants in the arable land are out-competed by more nutritious pasture species.

Another important part of the management of serrated tussock has been the aerial spraying program. This program was initiated by Jim and then coordinated across the catchment by the landcare group. The high priority paddocks have been systematically sprayed every year to ensure continual control of young emerging plants. Following this aerial spraying program with additional spot spraying has ensured comprehensive control of the tussock on the property.

Jim has a whole farm plan for the farm and the management of noxious weeds and pests is a major component of this plan. The major benefit of the plan in the area of pest management is that all pest plants and animals have been treated as an integrated system – rabbits, foxes, gorse, willows and serrated tussock are all managed as a coordinated effort across the farm.

The daily costs, in both time and money, for managing serrated tussock alone are quite significant. Each aerial spraying event varies in costs from year to year but, importantly, without the support of the local landcare group these costs could have been twice as expensive. These days Jim factors all the additional spraying costs into his budget and daily activities as a normal part of his farm management practice.

A major benefit has been the involvement with the landcare group. This group has provided significant resourcing and support and enables everyone to share their experiences, helping people feel that they are "not alone" with their issues.

The East Moorabool Gorge area is well setup to manage the weed in the future (they have enough awareness and understanding of the threat) but with the recent prolonged dry conditions across the area there has been significant downward pressure placed on farm incomes. Reduced farm income coupled with a potential reduction in assistance (through the program) could mean a significant step backwards in control.

Jim also realises that only 5-6 kms away from the area is the Rowsley Valley. While the Mt Wallace area is not in the direct "firing line" from the Rowsley serrated tussock seed, there is still a major problem present in the Valley which will take a number of years, and a lot of effort, before it is under control.

There are some weeds that are potentially as threatening as serrated tussock already present in the region. These weeds need to be controlled early on so they don’t become a problem in the future. This opens up an opportunity for the Serrated Tussock Program to stay ahead of the issues by diversifying to include other weeds of significance.

With the current restraints the department has with regards to recommending off-label chemical control there are some definite limits to the success land managers can achieve. By exploring alternate chemical recommendations a greater adoption of control programs and a subsequent higher "kill rate" of seedlings could rapidly reduce the current seedbed.

Finally, to reduce the impact of serrated tussock removal the program needs to encourage (even enforce) control programs with long-term management strategies for replacing serrated tussock with desirable species not just programs that get rid of the weed and forget about the side-effects.

Get in early to manage the seed spread.

Aerial spraying and spot spraying are important

The cost of chemical is one of the biggest barriers to continuous control.

We must keep the program going for at least the next 15 years.

Enterprise - Wool and Cropping

"High Plains", Rowsely Valley, 891ha, Mixed Farming.

Graham is a first generation farmer, and he first bought his first 400 acres in the mid 1950’s. The property was then expanded in 1962 by purchasing an adjoining 1700 acres. The 1700 acres Graham acquired was largely unimproved and rabbit-ridden with older sandy-clay soils that were prone to erosion and degradation.

It was in 1983 that Graham first noticed a small corner of his property had some serrated tussock on it, "but nobody took it seriously back then – not us, not the department". At this stage the tussock didn’t move much – it seemed under control. Then after a series of dry years with late spring and summer rains, in 1988, the tussock just "took off". Ever since then the tussock has manifested itself at an incredible rate.

It became obvious to Graham that the seed had spread many years before hand, and the plants were just waiting for the optimal growing conditions in order for them to shoot. Ever since then it has been a constant management issue, as surrounding properties have let their tussock set seed and continually infest Graham’s property. Even until very recently Graham has noticed seed continuing to blow over his property.

Graham started managing his serrated tussock fairly early compared with many others in the region. The main trigger for changing his management practices was that he could see that his business was going to "go down the gurgler" if he didn’t do anything. This realisation was not shared with all the neighbouring properties and over the years Graham has seen a lot of anguish and angst expressed in the community over who is controlling the weed, who deserves the grants and the effectiveness of the compliance.

For a lot of people it was ultimately the efforts of the compliance officer that triggered a change. With someone constantly "on people’s backs" it meant that eventually something was done. Unfortunately, this took some time and potentially two seasons of seeding had occurred in the district before those untreated areas and noncompliant landholders were managed.

Over the years Graham has employed several methods to control the serrated tussock spread. Back in 1989/90 Graham had some (fixed wing) aerial spraying done only in the worst areas, due to the expense of the chemical. Although this method managed some parts of the property it still meant there was a massive seed set, and by 1995 Graham’s place was declared at Level 2 [infestation]. It was with this shock that Graham decided to get "fair dinkum" about managing this weed.

Graham aerial sprayed 50ha in 1996 and another 60ha in 1997, and followed this up with an average of 2 days/week spot spraying from 1999 to 2001. From this concerted effort Graham thinks he has the weed to a "manageable" point -"under control is not the word". Over that period of time Graham had sprayed 69,000 litres of mixed glyphosate in spot spraying and he has still sprayed roughly at the same rate since then.

Today Graham gets 30 acres aerial sprayed every three years (where it is too steep to spot spray) and continues spot spraying at a fairly regular rate to keep on top of it all.

The next option that Graham took was to cultivate some areas and put crop in, out-competing the tussock. And finally his next project will be to start some revegetation blocks around the property which will "do their job, but they are not going to get rid of it".

The only real benefit of this management has meant that Graham’s business has not "gone down the gurgler". The whole experience has been such a negative one for Graham, his family and the community.

Graham has had to spend an enormous amount of money on this negative aspect of his business, instead of on something more positive like soil erosion control and top dressing.

Graham has it worked out that to this point he has spent about $50,000 on chemicals and that doesn’t include the expense in time over the years.

Graham knows that the Rowsley Valley area has been particularly looked after through the Serrated Tussock Program, and he realises that the district has been very fortunate with grants and rebates being offered through the program and through Landcare.

If the program stopped Graham sees that the problem would simply return to the way it was. With a high probability of a couple of people not managing their own tussock spread, the whole district would be infected once again. As Graham sees it, if the program stopped, within 3-4 years all the millions of dollars that have already been spent in the program would be wasted…"it’s just got to be kept up".

From Graham’s point of view, the Program needs to keep going the way it has been going. The compliance efforts need to be kept up to the level they were in September 2002, because if no-one keeps reminding and enforcing the rapid change required then the spread will continue at its current rate.

A major barrier for many people continuing any sort of control is the cost of the chemical so rebates, incentives and grants are also an essential part of the program into the future. As Graham says "it’s a case of the stick and the carrot approach".