Have you been scanning the papers and auction websites for that perfect piece of vineyard or farm machinery? Remember to consider biosecurity as part of the steps to getting it home.
If you do purchase any used farm machinery from interstate, you need to ensure you’ve met all state import requirements to get it home. Don’t forget that if you’ve purchased a tractor or implement that has been used in another horticulture or broadacre operation, it can still pose a risk of spreading soil and plant borne pests. Contact your state biosecurity department to discuss all import requirements.
For South Australia, Condition 27 in the SA Plant Quarantine Standard describes requirements for importing used machinery and associated farm/horticultural equipment linked with plant or soil contact into SA. It must be clean of soil and quarantine risk material and declared or certified as not having been recently used in a ‘high-risk’ area. Specific documentation must accompany the movement – generally being either a Declaration (Statutory or Biosecurity SA Declaration in Appendix 9) or a Plant Health Certificate issued by the exporting state, and importer registration and direct inspection conditions apply.
If the machinery or equipment has recently been used in a listed ‘high risk’ area for a particular pest, imports must comply with requirements for the particular pest-related Condition instead. These include:
- Grape Phylloxera: Condition 7A;
- Red Imported Fire Ant: Condition 2;
- Tomato Potato Psyllid and Zebra Chip: Condition 17;
- Potato Cyst Nematode: Condition 18;
- Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid: Condition 18A;
- Fusarium oxysporum Race 3: Condition 21;
- Green Snail: Condition 23; and
- Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus: Condition 24.
If you have purchased clean, new unused machinery or equipment, it will be exempt from this condition.
In addition to adhering to the import requirements above, when you get your purchase home and before use, we recommend you thoroughly inspect it for any plant material, soil or pests that may have dislodged during the trip, then thoroughly clean the machinery away from vineyards or other sensitive areas on your property.
Click here to read Plant Health Australia’s Farm Biosecurity article from the grains industry about purchasing a second-hand machine and the importance of cleaning on arrival.