Biosecurity initiatives to protect and grow Western Australia’s primary industries will be on show at this week’s Dowerin Machinery Field Days.
Coinciding with National Biosecurity Week, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s (DPIRD’s) display will allow visitors to explore a range of programs supporting farmers and regional landholders.
DPIRD Deputy Director General Biosecurity and Emergency Management Mia Carbon said the department worked closely with stakeholders to maximise early disease detection and minimise the impact of harmful weeds, pests and diseases on industry, the environment and community.
“I encourage visitors to stop in at DPIRD’s display and meet with experts to discuss biosecurity programs that support our grains and livestock industries,” Dr Carbon said.
“The animal biosecurity display offers information on reducing the risk of emergency animal diseases such as avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever and lumpy skin disease.”
Activities for both adults and children include learning how to set up a biosecure chicken coop to reduce the risk of avian influenza in poultry and knowing what to feed pigs to prevent diseases like foot-and-mouth disease.
Visitors can test their knowledge on the signs of emergency animal diseases for a chance to take home a power washer to improve their farm biosecurity.
Dr Carbon said DPIRD staff were available to update visitors on the ongoing implementation of electronic identification (eID) for sheep and goats.
“The new national electronic identification system means sheep and goats can be traced more quickly and accurately, aiding a rapid response in the case of emergency animal diseases or food safety incident,” she said.
Producers can learn about ear tag colours, current tag discounts, how to transfer livestock on the National Livestock Identification System database and enter the draw to win a bag of eID tags.
For grain growers, the latest in crop protection will be available at the broadacre systems display, with researchers on hand to discuss pests, weeds and diseases.
On-farm decision support tools, Grains Research and Development Corporation GrowNotes™ for stored grains and on-farm biosecurity signs will also be available.
Growers can speak to the phosphine resistance team to learn how to reduce the risk of resistant pests within grain storages.
Skeleton weed program staff will be on hand to talk about management and biocontrol options.
A free downloadable app, used with a mapping template provided by the department, is set to make mapping infested areas on a property easier while aiding skeleton weed searching by providing track logs.
The Dowerin Machinery Field Days will be held Wednesday and Thursday, 27-28 August 2025.
The DPIRD shed is located along Uberin Street, Dowerin, which is included on the field day clipper bus route.
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