Research shows that signs are powerful tools in the biosecurity fight. And signs are needed for varied purposes: to educate tourists, to direct visitors to the correct areas, to educate staff.
For that reason, we have developed a multi-pronged signage attack for the coming months.
Farm-gate biosecurity signs
We are working with Plant Health Australia to improve consistency of biosecurity messaging by leveraging the signs they promote across all agricultural industries. We’ve tweaked the wording to ensure the signs are suitable for our industry, but have retained the same look and tone.
These signs are suitable for vineyard entrances that are not near cellar doors. Their purpose is to encourage visitors such as contactors, sales people, utilities reps and other operators to phone the vineyard manager before entering the property.
Here is an example of the farm-gate signs:
Tourist signs
As part of our Responsible Visitation Campaign, we are developing an exciting range of signs for consumer-facing purposes such as cellar doors and cycling/walking tracks. We have developed these signs in consultation with industry bodies and experts.
The signs include English and Mandarin messages that aim to build a partnership with visitors around vine health and protection.
We will work with other wine industry bodies to promote the uptake of these signs. And we will include signage ordering information on the Vinehealth Australia website soon.
Here are examples of the tourist signs:
Exotic Pests Poster
As mentioned above, we have also produced an eye-catching poster to help grapegrowers identify 10 exotic plant pests and diseases that are categorised as high priority for viticulture, as well as two reportable endemic pests. Exotic pests aren’t in Australia, while endemic pests are already in Australia. This pest and disease range has been sourced from Plant Health Australia’s Biosecurity Manual for the Viticulture Industry.
In the coming weeks, we will post a printed copy of this poster to every vineyard owner in South Australia. And you can download a copy of this poster here: https://vinehealth.com.au/media/VHA-Pest-and-Disease-Poster_lowres.pdf
We will work with industry bodies in South Australia and in other Australian states to ensure distribution of this poster as broadly as possible.