Going Turbo: Controlling woody weeds in the north

For landholders in north Queensland, managing invasive weeds can be a constant and costly battle. Parkinsonia, Rubber Vine, Chinee Apples, and Bellyache Bush are some of the most naturalised, and some of the most difficult to control, but now in the spirit of Dalrymple Landcare, Len and Roxy Knuth are driving change.

Len Knuth with his new skid steer equipped with a turbo saw and mulcher for the eradication of woody weeds.

 “It’s pretty dangerous looking,” says Len Knuth.

He’s not wrong when he’s describing the latest investment he’s made to help control woody weeds. It is a turbo saw from Dougherty Forestry in the US, an implement that attaches to the front of his skid steer tractor.

The Knuth family property St Pauls Station is on the banks of the Burdekin River, about 80km south of Charters Towers and in the past five years or so, the weed problem has intensified.

“Anyone along the Burdekin has a Chinee Apple or some other weed problem,” Mr Knuth said.

“We have tried a lot of different pest management methods and probably failed at all of them to a certain degree.”

The Knuth family are not alone. A report released last year found weeds cost Australian Agriculture $4.8 billion every year. That’s about $13 million every day. The Centre for Invasive Species Solutions report states also states that the cost to agriculture has gone up 20 per cent since 2004. These costs do not take into account other losses that are hard tabulate, like decreases in biodiversity and environmental degradation as a result or weed infestation.

While it is difficult to put a value on the loss of production caused by weeds, at St Pauls Station, the Knuths have kept extensive records. In recent years they have used more than 75,000 litres of poison including Access and diesel, and water-based sprays. Despite that, the Chinee apples on St Pauls have formed impenetrable thickets in some areas, and so The Knuths turned to Craig Williams from ‘Willavago’ pest management. That’s where they first encountered the turbo saw and turbo mulcher.

Sufficiently impressed, they decided to invest in their own skidsteer and import the implements from the US, with help from Craig, who is a registered dealer for the machinery. This is not a cheap solution; Len and Roxy have spent more than $200,000 on the machinery and the attachments.

“The turbo saw is a horizontal cutting saw that can cut through quite large and tough timber, with the ability to spray the stump. So you don’t have to exit your cabin as well,” Mr Knuth said. 

“Chinee Apples up to 15 or 16cm are nothing for it. You can cut them off really quickly. The mulcher is also terrific on Bellyache Bush- it’s the first one of its kind in Australia and we are seeing impressive results.”

The Knuths realise this solution won’t fit a lot of budgets or business plans, but the solitary and protected nature of this method works for them. Anyone who has had a Chinee Apple scratch up their back after cutting it down with a chainsaw is not going to argue. 

“One man can do a lot of pest control,” Mr Knuth said.

You can drive up, the machine will cut then spray Access and diesel on the stump and you don’t need to get out- it’s all in one movement. Cut stumping is the best way to control any pest so we’re hoping to get ahead of our problem areas in a hurry.”

“You can do it all year round, and as long as you spray it properly, it’s 100 per cent kill.”

The turbo saw attachment for the skid steer. It has the ability to spray poison as it cuts stumps.