Victoria farmers are unhappy with the costs of pest control against locusts

According to Merbein South (west of Mildura) farmer Jack Lambert, a large number of insects have hatched over the past month. Another local farmer, Jim Pickering, described the number of observed pests as frightening and noted the need to act immediately when swarms form, as harvesting begins in a few weeks, with record yields expected.

Agriculture Victoria reports that locust numbers have reached a 15-year high, although they are unlikely to reach plague levels. The agency's monitoring program has been running since September, but Victoria's Chief Plant Health Officer Stephen Dibley stated that landowners and tenants of private or public land should not rely on assistance with land treatment. At the sameict, the agency is cooperating with organizations responsible for national parks and roadside verges to assess risks.

Victorian Farmers Federation President Ryan Milgate believes that farmers should be compensated for their efforts and the expenditure of time and money, as they bear an excessive financial burden.

Unlike Victoria, in South Australia the government subsidizes spraying against locusts through a chemical rebate scheme (Plague Locust Chemical Rebate), refunding up to $35 per hectare. This year, the South Australian authorities allocated a $6.5 million assistance package, including $4.6 million for landowner subsidies and $1.9 million for planning and monitoring. In 2010, during the worst plague in 75 years of billions of insects from New South Wales into Victoria, the state government launched a special response program (Australian Plague Locust Response) using biological and chemical agents.