Yabbie and honey producers worried following change to pesticide spraying regulations

Reese Kirwan's family have been farming in South Stirling for generations. So we have over 250 dams on the property and actively building more just as a just as a way to drought proof the farm essentially for dry starts. The dams could have cost the family access to lucrative markets in Europe. International sustainability and carbon certification previously rejected certification for grain aerially sprayed within 500 metres of a water body essentially would lose a market because we wouldn't be able to. Participate in the ISCC program. We just simply couldn't comply with with that requirement. But in April, the rules were changed after Cooperative Bulk Handling petitioned the ICC to exempt farm dams and salt lakes. We're certainly been really supportive of that, of that change in the definition. Because it allows us to to utilise best practice within our paddocks. But not all grain growers are happy. My reaction was a great deal of stress to be quite honest and I immediately when I saw the announcement I rang CBH about my concerns about what they were aiming to do. Australia's largest exporter of yabbies fears the rule change could have a direct impact on productivity. People ring me up and I'll say I've got a dam that's got no yabbies in it and I'll ask them. Do you spray pesticides? And they will say nine times out of 10, yes. CBH has dismissed the concerns, saying the ICC decision was backed by science. And they've reached a conclusion that there is no risk to the risk around biodiversity, soil health, water health, air health as a result of reaching this decision. But other experts disagree. It will have an impact here, a negative impact on biodiversity, on production for other other crop, other people who are producing other products. And for the biodiversity farmers fighting for a sustainable outcome.