Madagascar ragwort spreading fast in Northland, farmers call for national action

Northland beef farmer Ian Sizer is among a group of concerned farmers lobbying for government intervention in the fight against Madagascar ragwort, 'Mad Rag'. Photo / supplied

An invasive, yellow-flowering daisy is spreading rapidly across Northland, threatening to drive farmers off their land and posing a serious risk to primary production nationwide.

Concerned farmers say public awareness of Madagascar ragwort (M. ragwort) is dangerously low – even among themselves. They believe the authorities have underestimated the threat, which is now too big for Northland Regional Council (NRC) to manage alone.

They are calling on the Government and industry bodies to urgently launch awareness campaigns and introduce stronger enforcement mechanisms for landowners who fail to comply with control and eradication requirements.

The farmers warn that while M. ragwort is currently contained to Northland, it is only a matter of time before it spreads to other regions – Waikato being the most immediately vulnerable, but climate modelling shows the weed can also grow as far south as Canterbury.

Each plant produces thousands of seeds which are mainly wind dispersed but can also also “hitchhike” as a contaminant on machinery, animals, hay and silage.

Known as fireweed in Australia, where it is classed as a Weed of National Significance, M. ragwort is originally from southern Africa.

It is believed to have been in New Zealand for about 20 years, gaining a stronghold in the Far North because of its near-indistinguishable likeness to a less aggressive weed, gravel groundsel.

M. ragwort was identified through DNA testing in 2022.

There are no effective biological or herbicide controls for it and it is toxic to livestock – especially horses and cattle, which can suffer permanent liver damage, poor growth, low milk production, and sometimes death.

The state-owned Pāmu Farms has publicly reported M. ragwort is a persistent issue at its Rangiputa property, where infestations have accelerated exponentially, covering between 1200 and 1400ha of the farm’s 3300ha, causing a dramatic 35% drop in productivity over the past six years - an estimated average annual loss of production of $300 per hectare.

Far North dairy farmer Julianne Bainbridge said M. ragwort is severely affecting her farm and mental wellbeing.

After years of manual control, the weed has now overwhelmed her property, forcing her to use herbicides she had previously avoided, and which only bring temporary relief.

Far North dairy farmer Julianne Bainbridge

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) signed recently between Northland Regional Council (NRC), DairyNZ Limited, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and Pāmu will fund a business case and analysis of management options for the weed but had come too late, Bainbridge said.

She said NRC should have acted sooner, claiming it was dismissive of her concerns in 2022, and that it did not add the weed to its pest management plan until June 2023 – 18 months after DNA identification.

Some fields along SH10 in the Far North are now dominated by Madagascar ragwort. Photo / NZME

Bainbridge wants an investigation into the lack of official response. She said it was only last week that NRC finally posted social media content about M. ragwort, including a video featuring her and other farmers’ struggles to control it.

She was also critical that the only control mechanism available to compel action was a Good Neighbour rule, which pits landowners against each other and provides a loophole for those who were non-compliant to avoid enforcement by claiming they had gravel groundsel, not ragwort.

Ian Sizer, a beef farmer between Waipapa and Kaeo, said it was five years before he realised the pasture weed taking hold on his property was M. ragwort. He agreed NRC could have acted sooner on a regional awareness campaign and was surprised during a recent visit to the Kerikeri office, that there wasn’t even a poster on the subject.

However, he accepted the council had upped its efforts and that Government support - potentially millions of dollars - would be crucial to making any real impact. Earlier this year, he presented a petition to Parliament’s primary production committee urging national intervention, for which Pāma and NRC chairman Geoff Crawford (also a farmer) had made supporting submissions.

NRC biosecurity manager of pest plants Joanna Barr said it had taken on board farmer concerns about the weed and, since its identification, had been “working across several fronts to better understand and convey the impact of this pest and its management in New Zealand”.

“That includes engaging with landowners, sharing information at workshops and events, testing identification methods to distinguish it from gravel groundsel, seeking support from industry and central government, and addressing some of the key knowledge gaps for this weed around biocontrol, control advice for New Zealand conditions, and research priorities to improve control methods.

“We’re really pleased to have the MOU in place and the recent response from central government has been encouraging. It gives us confidence that we’ll be able to escalate the response and jointly coordinate and resource the highest priority needs.”

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent in Gisborne as a court reporter.