July 10, 2010
By Rory Callinan, Bowen
The Australian

POISONING seems to be the way some things get settled around the north Queensland fruit and vegetable farming community of Bowen.

Among the vast greenhouses and sprawling cultivations, it's a can of weedkiller that people seem to reach for instead of a rifle or a lawyer's phone number when there's a dispute or the competition for markets gets too intense.

The latest incident is no exception, if you believe the locals.

They are convinced the sneak attack on two farms, which wiped out a massive chunk of the region's tomato-growing capacity and cost the district $23.5 million in lost markets, was done by someone with an intimate knowledge of irrigation systems.

It was someone who knew how that pump system worked, someone who has been to the area before, said one local, who asked not to be named.

They suspect that between June 18 and June 20, someone crept into a pumping station at East Euri Creek, 25km west of Bowen, and injected a large amount of herbicide into a pipe system. When the pump was engaged, the poison was piped to only two farms -- Supa Seedlings, a large seedling grower, and Donnelly Farming, growers of hydroponic tomatoes.

Supa Seedlings, owned and run by Leslie Toss Eisemann, appeared to have copped the worst of it with millions of tomato, capsicum, melon and eggplant seedlings -- pre-ordered by the district's farmers for planting -- wiped out.

The Weekend Australian has been unable to contact Mr Eisemann for comment, but locals said he was devastated as he had planned to retire.

Wayne Donnelly said the attack had come at the worst possible time for his operations, and had put him $150,000 out of pocket immediately.

He refused to say who he thought was responsible. "I'm not going to go into any of that stuff," he said. "We don't know who did it. But whoever has done it, everybody in the district would like to see them go away for a long time."

Mr Donnelly said the poisoned water had gone into the mains, which supplied a residence on the property. He estimates it will end up costing him about $800,000 in losses from the uninsured crop. If he replants, it will take him five months to catch up to the point where he was about to harvest.

The poison is estimated to have destroyed more than seven million seedlings and 16,000 tomato plants, resulting in the loss of about 16,000 tonnes of fresh produce, hurting about 30 of the district's 40 growers, and could lead to a spike in supermarket prices.

This week there were a number of theories circulating, but police refused to confirm if any were relevant to their investigation.

Townsville Acting Inspector Dave Miles said a 12-member team was investigating, and tests were still being done to confirm how the attack had been mounted.

Officers had door-knocked the properties backing on to the creek several times, but he would not speculate on whether it was a local. "I have said all along that it could be as simple as someone has a grudge or vandalism or an attempt to influence the markets or the competition," Inspector Miles said.

"There's a large number of farmers who have access to the creek and a large number of farmers draw water from the creek."

He said the type of herbicide had been identified but further tests were being undertaken to confirm it was the killer.

It's not the first time farms in the district have been targeted.

In July 2006, up to $1 million worth of crops were destroyed when a glysophate-based poison was placed in a water tank used by an aerial spraying contractor.

In 2002, Andrew and Jenny Paterson's Queensland Seedlings Nursery, a 10-minute drive to the east of the location of this year's attack, was targeted, with the loss of about six million seedlings.

Despite significant resources being thrown at the two previous cases, they remain unsolved.

The Bowen and Gumlu District Growers Association said the poisoned seedlings had been earmarked for planting in September, which would mean a possible reduced supply for that month, resulting in an increase in commodity prices.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/tomato-kill-an-inside-job-say-locals/story-e6frg6nf-1225890025038