Pea epidemic leaves farmer feeling ‘like a criminal’ after police raid
A farmer is fuming after officials raided his farm looking to root out an illegal crop of peas.
Simon Perry’s Masterton property was raided by Ministry for Primary Industries officials and police last week after they apparently received a tip-off Perry was growing peas.
A two-year, Wairarapa-wide ban on growing the vegetables is in place in an attempt to eradicate the noxious pest insect pea weevil, discovered in the region in March.
Officers seized Perry’s computer hard drives while others conducted a thorough search of his paddocks.
Perry, from Whareama, 40kms east of Masterton, is angry that the ministry had to bring police on the swoop.
‘‘You know you haven’t done anything wrong apart from these self-seeding plants,’’ he said.
He was angered that they ‘‘wandered’’ around the house, and took his computer off him ‘‘like I was a criminal – that’s the part that really pissed me off’’.
Perry believes the ministry received a tip-off that he was growing peas in spite of the ban.
He said some pea plants on his property had been self-seeding from another crop.
He admits that there were flowering peas on his property but that they were not intentionally sown and he had taken steps to eradicate plants that had emerged as a by-product of last year’s crop.
The offending plantain and clover crops had been sprayed for weeds including the stray pea plants well before the MPI’s arrival on the farm.
Perry was told by MPI staff the following Thursday that they did not intend to pursue a prosecution.
An MPI spokesperson confirmed that they have been investigating ‘‘a potential non-compliance’’.
They are working with the farmer to ‘‘thoroughly clear selfseeding pea plants from his property’’.
MPI’s investigation, diagnostic centres and response director Veronica Herrera said the incident highlighted the vigilance required over the next two years if this introduced pest was to be eradicated.
‘‘Any potential non-compliance with the current Controlled Area Notice can place the entire industry at jeopardy if the correct procedures are not followed.’’
The weevil is attracted to flowering pea plants.
Federated Farmers Wairarapa president Jamie Falloon supported MPI’s efforts and said the eradication programme was vital and farmers needed to take seriously their responsibility to kill flowering plants.
‘‘A key component of that is making sure there are no peas growing anywhere.
‘‘A lot of growers haven’t been involved in anything of this scale before and there is always going to be speed bumps and actions that people wish were done differently, but the key message is that we need to get rid of the peas.’’