On Monday the 27th of November, the PCA/Local Land Services Early Needs Recovery Project ran a information day for the local grower group. The event featured four key speakers who delivered presentations on their respective areas of expertise. These included :-

  • Tony Bundock – Irrigation Basics (Protected Cropping Australia)
  • Nicolas Srour – Chemical Training Update (Ace Ohlsson)
  • Matt Plunkett – VEGNET NSW update (Local Land Services)
  • Lisa Sullivan – Natural Disaster update (NSW DPI)

The area was chosen for the event as many growers had experienced growing structure damage in recent storms. Lisa Sullivan explained that whilst there is not an immediate fund available to aid growers, the NSW Department of Primary Industries gather, analyse and report on damage to primary industries and animals after natural disasters using the Primary Industries Natural     Disaster Damage Assessments (PiNDDA) survey.

This survey is used to record damage to primary production and animals from natural disasters such as floods, fires and storms, so relevant government agencies can understand the severity and scale that has been impacted on agricultural businesses, to then plan for recovery activities and target resources and assistance in an area.

For growers that were impacted by the 31st Oct – 1st Nov 2023  windstorm in the SW Sydney region, it is important to complete this survey including photos to show evidence of   damage.

This will ensure the details can be reviewed and an appropriate response can be developed.

Once DPI have reviewed the survey responses, it is then forwarded to the Reconstruction Authority to review and decide if assistance will be offered. It has been recommended for a fast review and assessment timeframe.

Affected growers are requested to submit evidence of damage via the linkshown below:-

 

https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/emergencies/emergency/community/primary-industries-natural-disaster-damage-survey

We urge growers who have suffered damage to take the time to complete this survey, so that hopefully we can source financial assistance. The more information we can record, the stronger the case for funding becomes.

The event was well attended with over 40 participants. Growers were also able to obtain a number of free cucumber growing resources.

The day was finished off with a BBQ provided by the project team, and we extend our thanks to Nicolas Srour for his ‘Masterchef’ skills!

PCA are planning to run similar events in 2024 and these will be advertised via our social media and magazines.