Economic+threat+to+livestock+industry+(OW)

Economic threat to Livestock Industry

The effects of //Varroa Destructor// reaching Australia are expected to even be felt by farmers in the livestock industry. Clover (which relies on bee pollination) is a major contributor to both successful pasture growths via fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, as well as being considered a better quality crop for livestock consumption (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. 2000).With the introduction of //varroa// and the decline of clover in grazing crops, farms will have to increase the amount of fertilizer used as well as and sewing clover seeds to artificial counteract the lack of nitrogen fixation occurring (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. 2000).

With the average cost of a urea fertiliser being about $310/tonne and Australia having around 2.2 million hectare of grazing land (Department of Natural Resources &Water, 2007) it would cost around $8.5 million per year to cover the cost of the fertiliser alone.

White Clover, //Trifolium repens// ( NSW Department of Primary Industry and Agriculture, 2005 )