Pea crop ban finally lifted
‘‘We needed to pull together.’’ Karen Williams Federated Farmers
The warning signs about Wairarapa’s pea weevil and taking pea straw from the area are gone.
The pest, which threatened New Zealand’s $130 million frozen pea industry, has been officially eradicated, in what is thought to be a biosecurity world first
Growers in Wairarapa are responsible for only about 10 per cent of the pea industry but the weevil’s discovery in April 2016 triggered strong measures because of the threat to the bigger pea growing regions in Hawke’s Bay and Canterbury.
A resulting ban on growing peas or using pea straw in the Wairarapa hit not only commercial growers but also gardeners.
‘‘Wairarapa growers and farmers were initially aghast at talk of a ban on growing, for years,’’ Federated Farmers’ arable chairwoman, Karen Williams, said.
‘‘But we realised we needed to pull together. And we would need the support of the Government,
and the support of the wider community, which we got,’’ Williams said.
Given the risk pest incursions generally posed, Williams said it was ‘‘fantastic to be able to celebrate a win like this one’’.
Meg Perry, a farmer at Whareama, east of Masterton, said she and husband Simon had decided not to grow peas again but she thought most farmers would be delighted.
‘‘I know they have been trying to find alternatives and nothing has really suited as well as peas.
‘‘It suits the climate and people knew how to do it.’’
Peas also made a good return, the straw was often fed out to stock and as a crop it was particularly useful for returning nitrogen to the soil. ‘‘It was really a key part of people’s crop rotations,’’ Perry said.
The couple’s decision not to return to peas was influenced by a visit by the Ministry for Primary Industries during the ban, because of some peas that had self-seeded in wet pea straw. The experience had not been a great one, a bit over the top, Perry said. They grew a number of crops as well as running sheep and beef, so dropping peas was not a big part of their operation.
However, the fact the weevil had been eradicated was great news for other efforts, she said.
‘‘It gives you ... a bit of hope for mycoplasma bovis and some of the other eradication things they are trying to do.’’
New Zealand produces 62,000 tonnes of peas, which earns $50 million in domestic sales and $84m in exports.
By removing its food source, the pea weevil dies out. Farms had to be free of the pest for two years before the ban could be lifted.