Message from the CEO

Welcome to the March issue of Tendrils! The third month of 2023 has brought with it numerous industry events and the PHA team has had another extremely productive month representing our organisation at biosecurity events, showcasing careers in agriculture and biosecurity at career shows, participating in national committees and developing the draft Annual Operational Plan – to name a few. This month also brought a change to our organisational structure with the appointment of Jessica Arnold as the new Chief Operating Officer and Dr Lucy Tran-Nguyen as the General Manager, Partnerships and Innovation.

Board Meeting #110 

The Plant Health Australia (PHA) Board recently travelled to Brisbane, Queensland to hold Board Meeting 110 (BM 110). Their itinerary included spending valuable time with Members discussing priorities and gaining an increased understanding of the importance of biosecurity within their operations.

BM 110 was held on Monday 27 February 2023, hosted by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QDAF). The meeting had the full attendance of the PHA Board, as well as Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Corcoran, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, Michael Milne and Chief Operating Officer Jessica Arnold.

Annual Operational Plan Webinar

Have you registered for PHA’s Annual Operational Plan webinar on Thursday, 30 March from 1:00 – 2:30 pm (AEDT)? Registration is open to all PHA Members. Check your inbox for the registration link.

PHA’s Mid-Year Performance Report has been published

The Mid-Year Performance Report (MYPR) marks the halfway point in PHA’s financial year and reflects progress made against the strategic and operational priorities outlined in our Strategic Plan 2022–27.

New resources for bee surveillance training

New resources to support government Apiary Officers with bee surveillance activities has been developed as part of the National Bee Pest Surveillance Program (NBPSP).

2023 Plant Industries Biosecurity Committee (PIBC) workshop

The 2023 Plant Industries Biosecurity Committee (PIBC) and Plant Health Committee (PHC) workshop was held virtually on 28 February and was themed ‘Approaches to incentivise, value, recognise, grower adoption of high health practices’. The purpose of the workshop was to drive further collaboration between PHC and PIBC to help advance shared priorities over the coming year.

Get bee-sy and check your hives in April

‘Bee Pest Blitz’ is a new annual month-long national campaign to increase awareness of the importance of bee biosecurity and encourage beekeepers to inspect their hives for high priority exotic pests.

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) stakeholder workshop

PHA will be hosting its third stakeholder workshop on the proposed national High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) database at Agribio, LaTrobe University on 18 April.

Annual Diagnostics and Surveillance Workshop 2023

The Annual Surveillance Workshop (ASW) and the Annual Diagnostics Workshop (ADW) are networking events for plant biosecurity diagnosticians and surveillance practitioners to come together to share knowledge and learnings. This year the joint Annual Diagnostics and Surveillance Workshop (ADSW) will be held in Canberra 9 – 11 May 2023.

Three new National Surveillance Protocols (NSPs) endorsed

Three new nationally endorsed surveillance protocols for citrus canker, brown marmorated stink bug and spongy and nun moth have been endorsed and published on the Plant Surveillance Network Australasia-Pacific (PSNAP) website. 

Save the date: Polyphagous shot-hole borer (PSHB) workshop 2 - 4 May 

As an initiative under PHA’s National Plant Biosecurity Diagnostics and Surveillance Professional Development activities, PHA is working with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development of Western Australia to deliver a PSHB workshop for network members. 

Think Tank Series Webinar 1 – date and time update

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the first Think Tank webinar on fruit fly and market access has been rescheduled from 16 March, 1 - 2:30 pm, to Thursday, 30 March 2023 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (AEDT).

If you have registered for the original webinar, no action is required. For new registrations, please follow the link below. Registrations close today.

NFFC discusses irradiation as a disinfestation treatment

The NFFC’s Stuart Burgess and Chris O’Connor recently met with Steritech’s Fresh Produce Business Manager Ben Reilly, to discuss the use of irradiation as a fruit fly disinfestation treatment.

Prevent grain pest phosphine-resistance

Grain growers rely heavily on phosphine to keep stored grain insect free. Domestic and international markets demand high-quality grain, free of insects, and phosphine is extensively used to protect against grain storage pests.

Phosphine is a universal phytosanitary treatment of grain silos, seeds, plants, dried fruit, and other products. Due to the widespread and continued use of the treatment, producers can run the risk of pests developing resistance to phosphine. Grain growers can however, take certain steps to reduce the risk of this happening.

Assessing biosecurity risk and keeping track of visitors to the farm

People, vehicles, and equipment are known risk pathways that can bring new pests (insects, diseases, or weeds) onto your farm. Keeping track of visitors and vehicles on-farm movements is vital to managing biosecurity risks and one such measure is maintaining a visitor register.

Farm Biosecurity Program co-sponsors lanyards at Hort Connections

The Farm Biosecurity Program is one of the co-sponsors of delegate lanyards at this year’s Hort Connections, taking place in Adelaide from 5 – 7 June. The conference is recognised as the largest horticulture event and trade show in Australasia where you can interact with the largest cohort of key industry stakeholders in the sector.

PHA’s Naomi Wynn met with graduates interested in a career in biosecurity at The Big Meet career fair in Brisbane. 

PHA’s Executive staff met with Sophie Peterson from Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Sam Bishop and Prof Nicola Spence from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the UK to discuss our business model, the EPPRD, strategic priorities and shared plant biosecurity challenges between the UK and Australia.

The PHA Board had an opportunity to see Australia’s border protection firsthand with visits to the Brisbane International Airport, federal detector dog program and Department Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) Queensland laboratory facilities.

Grains Farm Biosecurity Officer Jim Moran recently caught up with growers at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days in Longerenong, Victoria. 

Shafiya Hussein, South Australia's Grains Biosecurity Officer, caught up with growers who are interested in learning more about grains farm biosecurity and surveillance at the South East Field Days in Lucindale last week.

PHA's Cheryl Grgurinovic, Manager Diagnostics, had a very successful year at the Canberra Show, taking out Champion for Jams and Jellies, and Most Successful Exhibitor with a total of 15 prizes. Congratulations Cheryl!

Congratulations to Jess and Lucy on their promotions

We are excited to announce the appointment of Jessica Arnold as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Lucy Tran-Nguyen as General Manager, Partnerships and Innovation.

For the past 12 months Jessica has provided support in governance and HR and has acted as Secretariat for the Board. Her new role as COO will have primary responsibility and strategic leadership of essential corporate functions, overseeing governance, business systems, human resources, risk management and digital systems. We look forward to the energy and focused approach Jessica will bring to the role.

Since joining PHA, Lucy has led the national plant biosecurity diagnostic and surveillance professional development and national protocols programs and her past experience holds her in good stead to take up her new role. The General Manager, Partnerships and Innovation leads the development of cost effective and sustainable national approaches to partnerships and innovation including member engagement, intelligence gathering, project reporting and contribution to national committees. Congratulations Lucy!